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1 



AN IMPROVED SYSTEM 



Educating the J^orse, 



AS TAUGHT 15 Y 



R. M. GILBERT, M. D., 



EMBRACING TREATISES o.\ 

The Diseases of Man, the Horse, Cattle, 
Their Treatment, &c. 

with 



tm.s» ~€~«» JTs»»« jl»m «>>■*». 



| W. HAYNES, - Gen. Traveling Agent. 



PUBLISHED BY J. W. BOWEN, ! 

i McARTHUR, OHIO: i 

} I To "Whom All Orders Should Be Addressed. If 

1875. 



AN IMPROVED SYSTEM 



Educating The Horse, 

AS TAUGHT BY 

y 

R. M. GILBERT, M. D„ 

EMBRACING TREATISES ON 

THE DISE4SES OF MAN, THE HORSE, 
CATTLE, THEIR TREATMENT, &c. 

WITH 



DIRECTIONS TO FARRIERS. 




Wesley Haynes, General Traveling' Ageut. 

~— 

PUBLISHED BY J. W. BOWEN, 
MC ARTHUR, OHIO: 

To Whom All Orders Should Be Addressed. 
1875. 






Entered according to Act of Congress ia the year 1875, 

By J. W . BO WEN, 
In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 






J£» .»«. JE JF -i«L GS? «* JfcC^W. 

The author or this work feas endeavored to give the reader correct 
idea3 of the nature and treatment of diseases occurring in that 
faithful servant and noble animal— the horse. It is intended to sup- 
ply the wants of that class of agriculturists and horsemen— and 
their name is legiou— who are in favor of a more sanative and 
rational system of medication than that recommended in many works 
on farriery Such individuals, in consequence of the scarcity of 
competent veterinary surgeons, are compelled to treat their own 
horses; and this work is intended to be to them, in the hour of need, 
one that will enable them to restore the sick and cure the lame. 

The author has aimed to be brief, yet practical, and has selected 
eclectively, from the Materia Medica, those agents which his own 
experience, during a professional career of twelve years in the 
vicinity of Philadelphia, and three years a veterinary surgeon in 
the U. S. army, have proved to be the most efficacious in curing dis- 
eases and lameness, so far as medicine is capable of accomplishing 
these objects; for it is a well known fact that medicine unaided by 
nature in the silent operation of the life forces, is, in most cases, 
positively useless. Some knowledge o£the law of physiology, as it 
applies to brute bodies, is indispensible for the successful treatment 
of diseases, and all who practice the veterinary art should study that 
law, not only in view of practicing understanding^, but for the 
more important purpose of preventing many thousands of unneces- 
sary cases of disease and premature deaths that are annually occur- 
ring among all classes of live stock; for many diseases and prema- 
ture deaths follow encroachments on the sanative laws of life. The 
more a man knows of physiology, the less faith he has in medicine. 
He resorts to our great catholicon, nature. Animals, if left to them- 
selves, invariably do the*sgme thing. They seek rest and_some sim- 
ple agent, which their own instinct points out as the Balm of Gilead, 
and they almost invariably recover, except when about running 
their last race. The province of the physician is to know when to 
withhold medicine; for many diseases are self-limited, and would, if 
the patient were placed in favorable circumstances, run through 
their various grade? up tu a healthy termination without the use of 
some of the trash strled medicine. 



Those who wish to practice according to the principles laid down 
in this work must learn to exercise patience and practice rational 
expectancy. Nature performs all her operations in a series of slow- 
ami gradual changes, an d any attempts to hurry her can only he 
accomplished at the expense of vital principle. The reader will 
perceive that the therapeutics are selected with an eye single 
to their innoxious qualities — not "calculated, like some horse medi- 
cines, to make a well horse sick, but for the very reverse of it. 

Health, however, must not be supposed to exist in drugs and 
physic halls The sick animal must be transferred within the ram- 
parts of the science of life, the means for accomplishing which are 
comprehended in a strict system of hygiene, and without which 
medicines may as well he thrown to the dogs, as given to a horse. 
The author considers it due to himself to state that he still adheres 
to those opinions promulgated in former works, regarding the vile 
practice of blood-letting and the use of agents that are known to 
depress the vital principles; and his aim is and ever will lie, so long- 
as he has the power to substitute sanative medication for tliat which 
experience has proved destructive; and to advocate the cause of 
those denied the power of speech— unable to plead their own cause 
If there is credit following the labor of the author in the cause of 
reform he declines to receive it, for it is the property of the profes- 
sion at large. He is indebted to physicians of all ages and sects for 
many suggestions and facts that have illuminated his professional 
path, and he has no desire to see laurels placed on the wrong brow. 

Some change has, however, taten place in the author's views re- 
garding the several medical sects. He was formerly somewhat of a 
specialist— wedded to one particular system of practice. He now 
practices without regard to sect— eolectively— selecting from the 
various systems those means and agents best calculated to aid, foster 
and perpetuate the physiological state without regard to their ori- 
gin or kind, or whether they be mineral or vegetable, reserving to 
himself the right to reject every process and agent which militates 
against the saiiatary forces of the body. 

It is generally customary among authors, when sending forth a 
book, to write some sort of an introduction. I propose for once to 
deviate from the general custom, and therefore launch this book 
into the great ocean of literature without any sort of introduction, 
preferring to let it carve its own way to pubiie patronage on its 
merits alone. R. M GILBERT, M. D. 



The Symptoms and Cures of Different Diseases 
of the Horse, 

Weak or Inflamed Eyes. 

Bleed in the junction of the eye vein; then run a 
seton in two inches below the eye, and anoint the 
tapis twice a day with equal parts of turpentine and 
tincture of cantharides, for fifteen or twenty days, 
and use the following eye wash: 

Eye "Wash. 

Sugar of lead, sulphate of zinc, blue vitriol, alum, 
and salt, of each one drachm, two ounces epsom salts, 
put all in one quart of soft water, and wash the eyes 
twice a day until cured. This is very good for man 
or beast. 

Eye Salve. 

Take one nutmeg and grate it very fine; mix with 
one large table-spoonful of hog's lard, and grease in 
the hollow above the eyes twice a day; this will 
clear them up in ten or twelve days. 

To Cure Founder. 

When you find your horse is foundered, take gun- 
powder, soft soap, and soot from a chimney, of each 
one table-spoonful; make in a pill with flour and 
give at one dose; this will cure in three hours, if 
given immediately. In fifteen minutes after give one 
quart of hog's lard; ride till warm. 

Scours in Horses and Cattle- 
Feed tormentil or septfoil one ounce three times a 
day, or burn beef bones so that you can powder them, 
and feed one table-spoonful three times a day in dry 
feed. This never fails, if given in time. 



Lung Fever. 

Symptoms -The horse is taken with a chili; then 
breaks out in a cold, clammy sweat, holds down his 
head, never offers to lay down, stands wide in front, 
and groans when he is made to move: his legs and 
ears are deadly cold, caused by letting him stand in 
some cold place, or giving him too much cold water 
when warm. To cure — First ascertain the stage of 
the pulse, which beats from thirty-six to forty-two 
per minute in a sound horse; bleed till his pulse be- 
comes natural; then blister around the breast and 
chest with the liquid blister; then take tincture aco- 
nite, spirits nitre, and laudanum, of each one ounce; 
add to it one gallon of spring water; let him drink 
one pint of it every two hours; rub and foment his 
legs with alcohol, camphor and red pepper till they 
get warm; give him water to drink that slippery elm 
bark has been boiled in, or hay tea with plenty of 
gum Arabic in it; open his bowels moderately with 
salts and linseed oil; never give aloes in case of lung 
fever. Keep on with the above and your horse will 
be cured if taken in time. 

Ringbone, Spavin, Curb Spiint, and Windgalls. 

To cure — Take oil origanum, tincture iodine, oil 
stone, tincture camphor, spirits turpentine, tincture 
cantharides, corrosive sublimate, oil cedar, croton oil, 
gum euphoribum, of each one ounce; mix with ten 
ounces hog's lard; then cut off the hair the size of 
the lump; then use the ointment lightly once a day 
for three days; then leave off for three days, and 
grease with castor oil to preserve the roots of the 
hair; then wash clean with soap and water; then use 
as before, and so on for twenty-four days, and your 
horse will be cured of his lameness in all cases, and 
will remove the lumps if not united to the general 
bone. It is also good for stocked ankles or milch leg. 

Tetanus or Lock Jaw. 

This is spasms of the muscles of the jaws and 
spinal column. To cure — Bleed moderately and rub 



the jaws and spinal column thoroughly with chloro- 
form. This will cure in first stages. If this should 
fail, split the end of the tail and cut out the first cau- 
dal vertebra?, or tail bone, and this will cure any case 
in three hours. 

To Cure Corns on Persons' Feet. 

Pare off the hard part of the corns; then use car- 
bolic acid on them twice a day for five days; then 
let them go, and in ten days they will come out and 
be cured without any pain. 

For Big Head. 

Feed one table-spoonful of Curtis' Horse Powders 
once a day, and one table-spoonful of strommonium 
seed once a day, the one in the morning, the other in 
the evening; and use the general liniment twice a day 
on each side of the head. This has never failed to 
cure if given in time. 

To Make Green Ointment. 

Take rosin the size of a hen's egg, melt in a vessel 
over a slow fire; then put in the same quantity of 
beeswax; when this is dissolved, add one-half pound 
of hog's lard; when this is melted, put in two ounces 
of honey; when this is melted, add one-half pound 
spirits turpentine, but fine white pitch is far better, 
if it can be obtained. Keep it gently boiling, stirring 
with a stick all the time till melted; then takeoff 
the fire and add two ounces verdigris; stir it right 
well; then put back on the fire and give a few bub- 
bles; then take ofl" and strain through a fine seive. 
It is then fit for use. This will cure cancers, scrofu- 
lous sores, chronic ulcers, ou man or beast. 

To Make a Horse Appear as if Poisoned. 

Take a tallow candle and rub his gums and teeth 
right well with it, and he will refuse the best of feed 
or drink until he would starve, unless removed. To 
cure— Take fine charcoal, water, soap, and. a brush, 
and give bis teeth and gums a good brushing, and he 
will be cured, 



Rheumatic Pain. Cramp and String Halt. 

Take equal parts of dog's grease and turpentine, 
rub the leg affected twice a day, from the hoof to his 
body, and heat it in with a hot iron. This will cure 
cramp or rheumatic pains in fifteen days. For string 
halt, you take dog's grease alone, nil) the leg twice a 
day, and heat it with a hot iron. Let the horse 
stand quiet. This will cure any case in fifteen days. 

To Make a Horse Lame. 

Take a hair out of the mane or tail; thread in a 
darning needle; pick up his fore leg and run the 
needle through the center of the large tendon, half 
way between the knee and fetlock joint; cut off the 
hair the same length as the hair on his leg on 
each side, and in ten minutes he will lose the use of 
his leg entirely. To cure — Take a pair of pincers 
and pull out the hair, rub with liniment, and in ten 
minutes he wiil be well. 

Water Farey. 

This is a swelling along under the chest, and for- 
ward to the breast. Bleed, rowel in the breast, and 
all along the swelling, six inches apart, apply the 
geueral liniment, move the rowels every day, let them 
stay in until the swelling goes down. Give soft food, 
mashes, with the cleansing powder in it. This is 
dropsj'. Many causes for it. See Youatt' work on it. 

Hoof Liquid. 

For tender feet, hoof-bound, etc., linseed or neats 
foot oil, one-half pint of either, four ounces turpen- 
tiue, six ounces oil of tar, three ounces origanum; 
shake this well and apply it as the directions for the 
ointment tells. This is the best if the horse has been 
lame long — it penetrates the hoof sooner than the 
ointment, Both of them should be applied at night, 
so the horse can go to work in the morning. He 
need not lose one day's work. Hoof Evil or Thrush 
Grease. 

Stiff Shoulders or Sweeny. 

Produce a counter irritation by making an incision 



[9.] 

about live inches from the wethers down on the shoul- 
der blade; then take hold of the skin on either side 
of the incision with the forefinger and thumb of each 
hand and draw outward, and by so doing the air is 
forced in: then rub and force the air all round the 
shoulder blade from top to bottom, and this will cure 
any case of sweeny, let it be of what stage it may. 

Hoof Bound or Tender Feet. 

Cause of this is fever in the feet, founder or 
travel The symptoms are hot feet and a drawing 
in one inch from the top of the feet, at the heel; al- 
ways have the feet spread at the heel, but not rasped 
above the nail holes, for it will do the foot an injury. 
Follow the directions given here. Use either tne 
hoof ointment or the hoof liquid; apply it according 
to the printed directions. For hoof bound or tender 
feet, apply it all around the top of the hoof down one 
inch every third day. If for split hoof, apply it every 
day. First have a stiff shoe on the foot, and cleanse 
the cut or crack. Never cut or burn for it. 

Cracked Heels. 

Cause of this is over feed and want of exercise, or 
standing in a filthy stable. Symptoms well known 
_a discharge of offensive matter from the frog of the 
foot or round the top of the foot; often the frog ot 
the foot will come out; then you must put a stitl 
shoe on the foot to keep it from contracting. 1 o cure 
—Bleed and physic, and poultice the foot with boiled 
turnips and some fine ground charcoal; this must be 
done every night for two or three nights; then wash 
the foot clean with castile soap and soft water, and 
apply the blue ointment every day; keep the horse on 
a clean floor and he will be well in twelve days. 

Worms. 

Symptoms -The horse eats, but will not thrive; 
his belly gets big; his hair stays. To cure—Give 
one quart of strong tea made of wormwood, at night, 
the next day give seven grains of calomel, make it 



into * ball and give it, give no cold water for forty 
eight hours, make it milk warm; give him two or 
three bran mashes, and some of the cleansing powder, 
if he shows any more symptoms repeat the dose in 
three weeks. This will never fail, 

MagriiiN or Dumbness. 

The diseaae makes its appearance in different 
forms; frequently it is noticed by the dullness of the 
horse in driving, and the inclination to leave the 
road or bear upon one rein, and incline to sleep while 
standing; and again he appears to have lost all feel- 
ing, pays no attention to the whip, and will go to 
sleep with the mouth full of feed. In other instances 
the horse is taken with jerking of the head up and 
down, and will run back and fall down, lay a few 
minutes, and then get up and go on. This is called 
fits by some, but it is the same disease, and by 
another form, caused frequently by high feeding and 
want, of exercise; this is by too large quantities of 
blood pasfing to the brain. It is supposed by some 
to be dropsy of the brain, but this is not the fact. 
Cure — Doubtful in all cases. Treatment for the dumb 
horse: Bleed and physic, give regular exercise, keep 
in a cool stable, reduce his flesh by taking strong 
feed from him, and give him fodder and blades of 
corn; for the dumb horse, give him one half ounce of 
tincture of assafcetida every day for one week, and 
then tie the gum, open the bits and wear it on them 
all the time; the same is proper in all forms of this 
disease. Horses in Southern States are subject to 
this disease; they call it sunstroke. It is wrong to 
keep horses in hot cellar stables without their being 
well ventilated. The stable should be kept clean and 
lime applied upon the floor every twelve days. The 
ammonia rising from the filthy stable is bad for this 
and all other diseases. 

To Cure any Stage of Founder. 

Bleed in the plate vein between the wart and knee 
on the insi de of the fore leg, after which produce a 



[11.] 

counter irritation as recommended for sweeny, and 
then make an incision at the lower part of the shoul- 
der blaile and force a catheter or goose quill in 
blow it full of air and force it down to the hoof, after 
which have the toe of the foot cut down until it 
bleeds, but have none cut off the heel. Shoe the 
horse with a spring heel shoe. 

Hoof Ointment 

Take rosin four ounces, beeswax six ounces, lard 
one pound, melt together, pour it into a pot with three 
ounces turpentine, two ounces verdigris, and one 
pound tallow; stir it until it gets cool. This is one 
of the best medicines for the hoof ever used. Follow 
directions. 

Distemper. 

Symptoms — Swelling under the laws and inability 
to swallow. To cure — Bleed two gallons and physic: 
then, if a tumor is found under the jaws, open it; if 
not, apply the general liniment to the swelling, or 
white ointment; make it break on the outside if pos- 
sible, then give of the cleansing powder for ten or 
twelve days in mashes. Turn him out if you can get 
pasture. 

Sore Mouth or Tongue. 

Symptoms — The mouth runs water, the horse 
scoods or throws his hay out of his mouth. The 
cause of this is often from frosty bits being put into 
his mouth, or by eating poisonous weeds. To cure — 
Take three drachms borax, two drachms sugar of 
lead, one-half ounce alum, one pint vinegar, one pint 
sage tea; shake all well together, and wash the mouth 
every morning. Give no hay for twelve days. 

Mange and Surfeit. 

Caused by running out in wet weather, over driv- 
ing, and poor cleaning. Symptoms — The horse rubs, 
and is itchy all over, broken out in scabs. To cure — 
bleed and physic, then take one-half pound sulphur, 
one pound lard, mix well, grease the parts affected 
every three or four days, stand the horse in the sun 



[12.] 

until all dries in, and give him a few doses of the 
cleansing powder. 

Founder in First Stage 

Symptoms — The horse is stiff, his feet hot, and 
often trembles; very thirsty. To cure — Bleed from 
the plate veins until it stops itself, or until he falls, 
then give the following: one-half ounce aloes, four 
drachms gamboge, one-half ounce oil sassafras, make 
this into a pill, and give him all the sassafras tea he 
will drink, turn up his feet and fill them full of boil- 
ing hot lard, bathe his legs in hot water and rub 
them well. This always cures in forty-eight hours. 

Fresh Wounds. 

First stop the blood by tying the arteries, or by 
applying the following wash : four grains nitrate sil- 
ver, one ounce soft water; wet the wound with this, 
and then draw the edges together by stitches one 
inch apart, then wash clean, and, if any swelling in 
twenty-four hours, bleed and apply the blue oint- 
ment, or any of the liniments spoken of. Keep the 
bowels open. 

Diseases of Liver or Yellow Water. 

Symptoms — The eyes run and turn yellow, the bars 
of the mouth the same, the hair and mane get loose, 
and he often gets lame in the right shoulder, and 
very costive. To cure — Give the following ball every 
morning until it operates on the bowels: seven 
drachms aloes, one drachm calomel, four drachms 
ginger, molasses enough to make it into a ball, wrap 
it in paper and give it; give scalded bran and oats — 
grass if it can be had. When his bowels have moved, 
stop the physic and give him one ounce of spirits of 
camphor in a pint of water every morning for twelve 
days, rowel in the breast and give a few doses of 
cleansing powder. Turn him out. 

Physic Ball. 

One-half ounce aloes, four drachms gamboge, twenty 
drops oil juniper; make into a pill with a few drops 



[13.] 

of molasses, wrap it in thin paper and grease it, draw 
out the tongue with the left hand, place a gag in the 
mouth, and run the pill back with the right hand 
until it drops off; let the head down and give a sup 
of water. First prepare the horse by giving one or 
two mashes. 

Diseases of the Kidneys. 

Caused by feeding dirty and musty grain. To 
cure — Blister over the kidneys and give the following 
pills every day: one ounce juniper berries ground 
fine, two ounces flour, make into a stiff paste, divide 
into seven pills, give one every night; then use the 
cleansing powder every day. If the horse has trouble 
to get up when lie la}^s down, swing him up for two 
weeks; give no food out that which is clean; this is 
half the cure. Do not work or ride him. 

For Rheumatism. 

Take one-half pint alcohol, one-half ounce oil ori- 
ganum, oue-half ounce gum myrrh, one teaspoonful 
lobelia, and let all stand over night; then bathe the 
part affected. This is the best medicine I ever saw. 
I paid five dollars for the receipt. 

Black Liniment. 

This is good to apply to poll evil — fistula. Take 
of linseed oil one-half pint, tincture of iodine four 
ounces, turpentine four ounces, oil origanum one 
ounce; shake and apply it every day; rub it in well 
with your hand; wash the part clean with soap and 
water before applying it. Good on any swelling. 

Croggy Knees. 

The cause of this is sprains or over driving, or be- 
having long high toes and no heels on the shoes. 
This can be cured in the first stages, but if of long 
standing there is no cure. To cure — Have shoes 
made thin at the toe and high at the heel. Take one- 
half pint linseed oil, four ounces alcohol, one ounce 
spirits camphor, two ounces laudanum; shake and 
apply to back part of legs; rub it in well every four 



days; still increase the thickness of the shoe at the 
toe. 

Secret for Subduing tli» Hors>. 

Take oil of rhodium and oil or cummin, of each 

equal part:-, mix aud wet a sponge with it, and ap- 
proach the horse and squeeze some of it on his 
tongue, and the horse is your servant, and you can do 
with him as you wish. 

Greasy Heels or Chronic Scratches. 

Take three quarts strong lye, four ounces white 
oak bark, one-half ounce sulphate of zinc, one-half 
ounce blue vitriol, two handfuls of laurel leaves, one 
ounce sugar of Lead, one handful of common salt, 
boil all together for thirty minutes; it is then tit for 
use. Apply twice a day till cured. 

Colic. 

Symptoms — The horse lays down and gets up 
often, and looks at his flanks. His ears and legs are 
cold. The cause of this is cold water and change of 
food, and an over quantity of acid in the stomach. 
To rare — Take one-half ounce laudanum, one ounce 
sulphur ether, one pint milk warm water; drench, 
and if not better in forty or fifty minutes, bleed and 
repeat the drench. Don't move the horse while sick. 

How to Fatten the Poorest Hjrse. 

Take three drachms nitric acid, two ounces salara- 
tus, three ounces saltpeter, three ounces black anti- 
mony, three ounces assafoetida; mix and give one 
tablespoonful in every mess. This will fatten the 
poorest horse that lives in two weeks. 

How to Make Blue OiMtmeut. 

Take four ounces ointment of rosin, one-half ounce 
finely ground verdigris, two ounces turpentine, two 
pounds mutton tallow, one-half ounce oil origanum, 
one-half ounce tincture iodine; mix all well. This 
is one of the best medicines that can be made for 
scratches, hoof evil, and cuts, and is good to apply 
on fistula after the rowels are taken out. 



lttOnuiatiou of the Bowels. 

Cause — Large quantities of water when overheated; 
sudden change from warm to cold atmosphere; 
plunging the horse when hot into cold water; high 
fed horses are most subject to this disease. Reme 
dies — Bleed one-half gallon from the neck, and give 
the following: two pints gruel, one ounce prepared 
chalk, four ounces catechu, three scruples opium. 
The above should be repeated every six hours until 
the purging ceases. The horse must be kept clothed 
and well rubbed. If there is much tenderness in the 
bowels, by the pressure of the hands, it will be prop- 
er to apply the liquid blisters over the bowels. 

How to Make White Ointment. 

For rheumatism, sprains, burns, swellings, bruises, 
or inflamation of man or beast, chapped hands or lips, 
black eyes, or any kind of bruises. Take two pounds 
fresh butter, one ounce tincture iodine, two ounces 
oil origanum; mix this well for fifteen minutes and 
it is fit for use. Apply it every night; rub it in well 
with the hands; if for the human flesh, lay on warm 
flannel. 

Big: or Milk L,eg. 

This is brought on b\ r a hurt, a want of action in 
the absorbent system ; it is dropsy of the muscle of 
the leg. To cure — Apply the liquid blister every 
three or four hours until it blisters; then in six 
hours grease it with soft oil of any kind; then in 
eight days wash the part clean and apply it again; 
repeat it three or four times, then use the iodine 
ointment. If this does not remove it all, apply the 
spavin medicine; this will remove it. 

Broken Knees. 

This is caused by the horse falling on his knees. 
First cleanse the part of all gravel and dirt, then 
wash it. Take two gills alcohol, one-half ounce ar- 
nica, tie the knees up in coarse linen, and if they 
swell in twenty-four hours, bleed and keep the bowels 
open with mashes, and then apply the blue or iodine 



[16.] 

ointment every other day. Do not use the horse 
until he is perfectly well, or it may cause the knee 
to break out again. 

Lampers. 

All young horses are liable to this trouble. It is" 
nothing but inflamation of the gums. To cure — 
Bleed or scarify the gums, but never burn, for it 
spoils the teeth and adds to the cause of the disease. 
Give the bran mash, rub the gums with salt, and use 
the cleansing powders. 

Liquid Blister. 

Take one-half pint alcohol, one-half pint turpen- 
tine, four ounces aqua ammonia, one ounce oil ori- 
ganum; apply this as spoken of every three hours 
until it blisters. Do not repeat oftener than ouce in 
eight days, or seven at least, or it will kill the hair. 

How to Cure Corns. 

Take off the shoe, cut out the corns, and drop in a 
few drops of muriatic acid; then make the shoes so 
that they will not bear upon the parts affected. Ap- 
ply the hoof liquid to the hoof, to remove the fever. 
This is a sure treatment. I never knew it to fail. 

General Liniment. 

One-half pint turpentine, one-half pint linseed oil, 
four ounces aqua ammonia, one ounce tincture iodine; 
shake it all well. This is used for different recipes, 
sores, swellings, sprains, etc. 

Receipt for lace on any Animal. 

Take four ounces coculus indicus, and boil for 
thirty minutes in two quarts of vinegar; then wash 
or rub the animal all over where the lice or nits are 
and they will all be dead in one hour. 

How to Make the Magic Liniment. 

Two ounces oil spike, one ounce oil origanum, two 
ounces spirits turpentine, three ounces sweet oil, two 
ounces spirits wine, one-half ounce tincture Spanish 
fly, one ounce spirits hartshorn; put in a bottle and 
shake, and apply to all strains, sprains and bruises. 



[17.] 
Sprain of the Stifle* 

Symptoms — The horse holds up his foot, moans 
when moved, swells in the stifle. This is what is 
called stifling. There is no such thing as this joint 
getting out of place. Cure — Foment the stifle with 
hot water; rub it dry; then bathe it well with the 
general liniment every morning and night. Give 
him a mash and he will be well. Never allow any 
stifle shoe, but fasten a strip above the hook joint of 
the well leg to keep the lame leg in position. 
To Remove Wart*. 

Take one ounce nitric acid, one ounce muriatic acid, 
one-half stick nitrate of silver; put all into a bottle 
and let it stand for twenty-four hours; then cork for 
use. Put on twice a day till the warts disappear. 
For the Heaves. 

Four ounces land plaster, four ounces tartar emet- 
ic, four ounces ginger, four ounces alum, four ounces, 
blue vitriol, four ounces Spanish brown; mix and 
feed one table-spoonful once a day on chop or mash 
feed. Dampen all the feed the horse eats. 
Contractions of Tendons of Neck. 

Symptoms — The head is often drawn around to 
one side; again, the horse can not get his head to 
the ground. The cause is spraining the horse, and 
rheumatism produces the contraction. Cure— If it 
is taken in the first stages, bleed from the neck two 
gallons, then foment or bathe the part well with hot 
water, rub it dry and take the general liniment and 
apply it two or three times every day. This will 
cure if it is of long standing. Then blister with the 
liquid blister all along the part affected. Do this 
every three weeks untjLJ he is well, and rub with the 
white liniment. 

Johnson's Liniment. 

Take one ounce oil origanum, one-half pint alcohol, 
one : half ounce oil cedar, eight ounces olive oil, one- 
half ounce oil cloves, one-half ounce turpentine and 



[18.] 

shake together well. This is used for allmost all 
complaints of the muscles. 

For Cleansing J lie Blood of tbe Horse. 

Bleed the horse through the nostrils, after which 
use the following purgative: Six drachms ball of 
Barbadoes aloes, two drachms pulverized ginger, one 
drachm pulverized gentian root. Twenty-four hours 
after give one of the following powders twice a day 
in his mess: One ounce black antimony, one and 
one-half ounces saltpeter, two ounces flour of sul- 
phur, mix and divide into eight powders. 
For Scratches, <Vc. 

Wash well the parts affected with a solution of 
castile soap suds, after which use the following: One 
pound white lead, one ounce castor oil, one ounce 
pulverized alum, mix well and apply upon the parts 
affected. 

To Temper Mill and Other Kinds of Picks. 

Corrosive sublimate, prussiate of potash, salamo- 
niac, alum and saltpeter, of each two ounces, put all 
in two gallons of water until dissolved, then heat 
your steel to a cherry red as far up as you wish it 
hardened and then plunge it in; draw no temper, 
let it la}' until cold and it will be hard and tough. 

How to Make a Horse Blind. 

Take common flaxseed and chew it fine in your 
mouth; then blow your breath in the eye two or 
three times, and in ten minutes there will be a white 
scum over it. To cure it take a silk handkerchief, 
wrap it around your fingers, dip it in fresh water, 
draw it over the eye and part the scum, and it will 
go off in ten minutes. 

To Make a Horse Appear as if Glandered. 

Take six ounces unsalted butter, one ounce tinct- 
ure assafcetida, mix and put the half in each ear at 
night, and the next morning he will run and smell 
worse than any glandered horse you ever saw. It 
will cure itself soon if left alone. 



[4*9.1 
Hoof Ail in Sheep. 

Muriatic acid and butter of antimony, of each two 

ounces, one ounce pulverized white vitriol, mix, lift 

up the foot and drop a little upon the hoof twice a 

week. It kills the old hoof and a new one soon grows. 

Hots. 

The bot has been a mystery, until late years, with 
the best men that ever wrote upon the horse. I am 
asked almost daily, by horsemen or farmers, "Is a 
colt foaled with bots; or is it necessary for a horse 
to have bots?" Certainly it is necessary for a horse 
to have bots; and he could not live very long without 
them; they are a part of the horse. They aid and 
assist the digestion of the food in the stomach. A 
colt is foaled with a certain quantity of red bots, 
which adhere to the coating of the stomach, and are 
natural for a horse to have to preserve health. They 
never let go to take hold of any strong poisonous or 
sweet medicine you may pour down his throat. They 
live upon the gastric juice and mucous of the stom- 
ach, and are a substitute for the gall-bladder upon 
a horse's liver, a horse having no gall-bladder upon 
his liver as other animals have. But a horse has a 
gall duct through the center of his liver, which serves 
to convey the gall bile to the intestines to assist the 
digestion of the food. 

But there is another bot which originates from a 
species of gadfly that you see in the fall of the year 
busily engaged depositing their nits upon the legs, 
shoulders and under jaws of the horse. While rub- 
bing their jaws about the trough, or rubbing their 
legs with their teeth, they get those nits in their 
mouth and among their food, and they are conveyed 
with the food to the stomach and there hatched out, 
and adhere to the inner coating of the stomach. This 
is a yellow bot which forms the internal army which 
is always contriving a plan to destroy the horse. 

Yellow bots will certainly kill a horse in three 
ways: the horse will get an over quantity of them, 



and they will get up in the cardiac orifice, produce a 
stoppage, and choke the horse to death; then again 
they will get down in the pyloric orifice, produce a 
stoppage, and the horse is perhaps taken with flatu- 
lent colic, and they kill him in that way; then again 
they may perforate the stomach, and kill him in that 
way. But they hare always got something to con- 
tend with before they will injure the animal. A 
sound horse was never injured by a bot as long as he 
eats his food regularly three times a day. His 
stomach is sweet and his whole sj'stem in good order; 
they have then plenty of food to live upon without 
injuring the horse. 

But the horse has the smallest stomach of any 
animal of his size living, consequently the food is not 
long retained in the stomach, but is converted into 
chyle, passes through the pyloric orifice, and enters 
the duodenum; there it receives the secretion of the 
excretory duct of the pancreas, the gall-bile from the 
liver, and is converted into chyle, passes off into the 
large and small intestines, and is principally digested 
there. Therefore, if you hitch up your horse in the, 
morning and work him hard all day long, and omit 
feeding him at noon (when he is regularly accustom- 
ed to having his food three times a day,) or in the 
afternoon, or towards evening, his stomach becomes 
very empty, and those bots are liable to let go at any 
moment and go to work upon the inner coating of 
the stomach. 

Then again there maj r be some disease approach- 
ing or gnawing upon the animal's system; he loses 
his appetite and eats but little; you begin to wonder 
what is the matter with 3'our horse. Just as soon as 
he loses his appetite, his stomach becomes sour, and 
then we call it a diseased stomach, and the bots are 
again liable to let go at any moment and go to work 
upon the coating of the stomach. Just as soon as 
the disease threatens the life of the horse, it also 
threatens the life of the bot, and they will try to 



[81.1 

make their escape out of the stomach as best they 
can. You may take Youatt with Prof. Spooner's 
notes, Dr. Bracken's, Bartlett's, M agee's or Stewart's 
works, and they are all wild upon the bot; they will 
tell you that a bot never perforated, or in other 
words eat through a horse's stomach whilst he lived, 
and they thus show that they know nothing about it, 
for while practicing in the army and while traveling 
through the States, I have seen horses that died with 
bots that had eaten entirely through the stomach 
and its contents also, within ten minutes after the 
death of the horse; and this goes to show that they 
will certainly eat through the stomach while he lives. 

Now we have tried almost all the strong and pois- 
onous medicines imaginable to kill the bot, such as 
nitric acid, sulphuric acid, muriatic acid, strong 
elixir vitriol, a strong decoction of pink root, strych- 
nine, arsenic, turpentine, alcohol, and all those medi- 
cines commonty fatal to vermin, and they will actual- 
ly live in any of those medicines from one to twenty- 
four hours, which goes to show that you may pour 
all the strong medicine you please down a horse and 
you will kill the horse instead of the bots. 

But we have a vegetable that nearly every farmer 
grows upon his farm every year, the juice of which 
will kill a bot in ten seconds, where nitric acid would 
not kill them in twenty-four hours; not because it is 
strong or because it is poisonous, but it is a well 
known fact that when farmers or stock owners 
get sick horses, the}" will send off for the best horse 
doctor (so called,) that they have in the country. He 
comes and examines the animal: he is perhaps not 
thoroughly posted in anatomy and physiology, or the 
different symptoms of the different diseases that the 
horse is subject to, and he is unable to tell what is 
the matter with the patient; but he knows enough 
to know that there is something wrong, and about 
the first thing he will tell you is that your horse has 
the bots. Certainly he has bots, but the question is, 



are the bots afflicting the horse at the time? 1 will 
teach any boy fourteen years old, who may enter my 
class, so that he can alwa} r s tell when the bots are at 
their destructive work. But this man may tell j^ou 
that your horse has the bots and he is going to kill 
them, and he will drench him with strong dose after 
strong dose of medicine; and still the horse is per- 
haps getting worse all the time. 

When he has given him all he knows, some one 
else in the crowd knows of a cure and they will give 
him that; and still they have no relief. Perhaps 
some one else will say, "That horse acts just as my 
horse did some time ago, and we gave him so and so 
and it cured him;" and they will give him that. 
After a while they will have ten or a dozen strong 
doses of medicine poured down his throat, and make, 
as it were, a drug store out of his stomach; and 
eventuall} 7 the medicine kills the horse instead of 
the disease. Hundreds and thousands of horses are 
killed yearly by over doses of strong medicine, ad- 
ministered by men that don't understand the prop- 
erties of medicine, or don't understand their busi- 
ness. Whether it be a veterinary surgeon or a phy- 
sician who administers a dose of medicine to his 
patient, he should be able to tell what effect it will 
produce upon the patient, or he should not adminis- 
ter the medicine. Now I can give you several pre- 
scriptions that will afford temporary relief from the 
bots, when you find your horse is plagued with them. 
If you will bleed him in the mouth, or take one quart 
of blood from the neck vein, and give as a drench, 
some times that will give relief; then again j r ou can 
give him sweet milk aud molasses; half an hour af- 
ter you will give strong boiled sage tea or alum 
water; half an hour after give him a phjsic; the 
milk and molasses will cause the bots to let go, the 
sage tea or alum water will shrivel them up; they 
will lay in a dead or dormant state and the physic 
will carry them off. 



[83.3 

Then again you can turn up his upper lip, rub it 
with spirit* of turpentine, rub his breast and ehest 
with turpentine and you maj r relieve him through or 
by any of those operations in from fifteen to twenty- 
five minutes; but it is only a temporary relief; those 
bots still remain in the stomach to take hold at any 
time that there is a disease gnawing at the vitals of 
the stomach or that his stomach is empty. But the 
beauty of the vegetable juice is that you have it in 
your house the year around; when you find that the 
bots are working upon your horse, go and get one 
quart of the juice and give it as a drench, and as 
soon as it gets to the stomach the bots will let go 
and suck themselves as full as ticks and the gas that 
is in the vegetable juice will actually burst them in 
the stomach. That is the only medicine which we 
have found, in all the experiments that we have ever 
tried, that will kill the bots in a horse's stomach 
without injury to the horse. Next day you will see 
them pass off with the evacuation of the bowels, not 
the bot, but the outside skin or shell of the bot; then 
your horse will not be troubled with them again un- 
til the next season, when those gad-flies will come 
back and deposit their nits in the same places above 
stated; they are again taken with the food into the 
stomach, hatch out and remain there until the next 
summer; then "their time has come, they will let go 
their hold, pass off with the evacuation of the bowels, 
get in the earth or manure piles, go through some 
kind of a transformation similar to a silk worm; 
there they lay in a dead or dormant state from three 
to five weeks, then they burst their horny shells like 
a locust and come out in that same gad-fly again, 
and deposit their nits in the same places as above 
stated. Thus those unnecessary yellow bots that 
destroy so many valuable horses, originate from gen- 
eration to generation. You can prevent those bots 
by rubbing the nits in the fall of the year with spir- 
its of turpentine two or three times — it kills them 



and they drop off. If you will shore them off in the 
palm of your hand, spit upon them, and put the 
palms of your hands together for two minutes, you 
will have them hatched. If you will take a live bot 
from the stomach of a horse that has died or been 
killed and put him in a phial, put a cork in, giving 
him a little air by cutting a bit out of the cork, then 
tie a string to the phial and hang it in a warm room, 
and in twelve or fifteen da} 7 s it will come out a per- 
fect gad-fly and creep around in the phial; in that way 
jou can all see where they originate from. 
Tlie True Symptoms of the Bot. 

When the horse is taken with the bots while in 
the team, you will frequently see him paw, first with 
one foot and then with the other, whisk his tail down 
between his legs, and exhibit other signs of distress, 
continually shifting from one position to another. 
If you unhitch him he will lie down, roll over and 
over, sometimes lying on his side and putting the 
muscle of his nose around to his side and give signs 
of pain, and frequently he will turn up his upper lip. 
If } T ou will examine his mouth you will find the true 
representation of the mouth of a bot; you will find 
little pimples upon the inner surface of the lip, which, 
in a sound horse, or in any other disease, are per- 
fectly white, but when the horse is plagued with bots 
they will turn to a purplish red and become enlarged. 
By those 33- mptoms you will know that it is bots. To 
cure — Take one quart of the vegetable juice above 
mentioned, which is common potato juice, obtained 
by grating them fine or mashing them as best you 
can, pressing out the juice with which to drench the 
horse. This will cure any case in twenty-five min- 
utes, unless they have eaten entirely through the 
stomach. 

Poll Evil. 

Among all the evils in this world, the poll evil is 
the greatest. It is brought on by a bruise or stroke 
of some kind, which produces fever or inflamation of 



;«5.j 

the muscles of the poll of the neck; in first stages 
you will find an enlargement sometimes on one side 
and sometimes on both sides of the neck, with fever 
or inflamation. In its first stages, all that is neces 
sary is to bathe the enlargement twice a day, with 
any of the liniments that you find in this work, and 
in a few days you will scatter the swelling and draw 
all the inflamation out, and your horse will be cured, 
but if you neglect and let it run on too long, there 
will eventually grow roots and core or pips in the 
enlargement. It has been considered by the best 
authors, until late years, to be incuraole without, 
stiffening his neck, because they would put strong or 
poisonous medicine in the orifice or tumor upon the 
neck, such as corrosive sublimate. Arsenic or acida 
eat down and injure the ligaments of the joint, and 
the result was a stiff neck; but we have tried experi- 
ments upon that disease until we have now got a 
cure that will never fail in that disease. We first se- 
cure the horse against danger to ourselves by putting 
a twitch upon his upper lip and strapping up one fore, 
leg; than we take a six inch seaton needle, thread it, 
with a tape one half inch wide, then we run a sea- 
ton through from the bottom of the enlargement to 
the top, draw the tape through and tie it, then make 
the following lotion : take muriate of ammonia 2 
ounces, spirits of turpentine 6 oz., 4 ounces linseed , 
oil, 1 ounce oil of tar, 1 ounce corrosive sublimate, 1 
ounce oil origanum, tincture of iodine 1 ounce, 1 
ounce croton oil; shake ail well together and anoint 
the tapes twice a day and draw them through back 
and forth every time you apply the medicine, and so 
keep on as long as it runs a thick yellow matter; but 
as soon as it runs a thin bloody matter and the en- 
largement is all gone down, then you will cut the tape, 
draw it out and keep the parts washed clean with cas- 
tile soap and warm water and use the magic liniment 
until it is all healed over, and your horse will be cured, 
sound without spot or blemish and without a stiff 



[26.1 

neck. Keep the parts washed clean every day or two 
while using the medicine, which will hasten the cure 
and keep the hair from dropping out ; also, use the 
cleansing powder as directed in the receipt, to cleanse 
his blood and system thoroughly. 

Fistula.. 

This disease is one and the same as Poll Evil, only 
& different location gives it a different name. What 
will cure one will cure the other ; follow strictly the 
directions of the Poll Evil receipt and you will never 
fail to cure the Fistula, unless it has passed down be- 
tween the shoulder blade and the ribs, then it is too 
deeply seated to apply any medicine to the seat of the 
disease ; consequently it is then incurable and your 
horse would be well sold at five dollars. 

Catarrh, Cold or Chronic Cough. 

This disease is brought on through a neglect of dis- 
temper, taking cold while over- heated, or taking cold 
while having the distemper. The seat of this disease 
is in the larynx and works the same upon the horse 
as the laryngitis does upon a person. If you let it run 
on it will terminate in nasal gleet, strangles, glanders 
or the heaves. The air passage is partially closed by 
phlegm, inflammation or swelling, and you will ob- 
serve that his throat is very sore and tender; he will 
have a very bad cough — many times a rattling noise 
in his throat and nostrils; sometimes a discharge or 
running at his nose, sometimes a heaving at his flanks. 
By the muexperienced, this is oftentimes called 
heaves. Now this kind of heaves are curable. For 
this disease, we will use the American horse, cattle 
and hog powders, a receipt for which you will find in 
this work. Feed as directed in the receipt and in tea 
or twelve days it will stop all cough ; it will cleanse 
the air vesicles, tubes or cells from the lobes of the 
lungs to the pharynx, and cure him sound. Feed it 
to a horse that has a loss of appetite — it will sweeten 
his stomach, give him a good appetite and cleanse his 
blood and system thoroughly. Feed it to a horse that 



has got the distemper and you will hardly notice that 
he has got the disease, and after he is over the disease 
he is the same horse that he was before you have 
cleansed his blood and system thoroughly. He has 
no bad cough left or any discharge from his nostrils. 
Feed it to a horse that has an unnecessary amount of 
worms. The symptoms of worms are — he stands and 
rubs his tail, tucked up bellv, staring coat, hide-bound, 
looks dull and mopish out of his eyes, eats generally 
plenty, but hardly ever thrives, the one half of the 
food that you give that horse, goes to nourish those 
worms and the other half goes to nourish the body and 
system of the animal; consequently only one-half of 
the feed does the horse any good. For worms we 
feed the powders above named, as directed and in a 
few day you will see them pass off with the evacua- 
tions of the bowels, and in a few days they will all 
pass off. Now in any of those diseases mentioned 
you will find an entire difference inside of ten days aft- 
er you feed the powders; don't be afraid to feed them 
to your mares in foal or your best horses, for there is 
no pampering medicine in them. The same powders 
are also the best preparation ever put up, for cattle, 
when they are out of fix or diseased in any way; such 
as hollow horn, wolf in the tail, loss of appetite, or a 
debilitated system from any cause; also, the best 
powders that have ever been used to keep off hog 
cholera, or to cure if taken in time; they are also good 
for sheep and poultry. 

The Aisuloiu) or Osseous Stractnre of the Horse* 

Anatomy explains, if taken in its widest sense, the 
nature, office, and structure of every part of an ani- 
mal. Animal anatomy has been appropriately divid- 
ed, by writers, into three grand dirisioas, theosseous^ 
the muscular, and the nervous structure of animals. 
The osseous is that which we shall now treat of: 

All quadrupeds are formed of an earthly base, call- 
ed bone; and the assemblage of bony parts, is called 
a skeleton. Bones are composed of earth and lime, 



held together by means of gelatin, a kind of glue, se- 
creted by appropriate vessels. Bones are covered by 
a thin skin, called the periosteum, which bears the 
same relation to the bone as the skin to the body, 
serving as a covering for its surface, and a sheath for 
the different cavities which enter it. 

Bones are all of them, except very flat ones, more or 
less hollow; within their caverns an oily fluid is se- 
created, called marrow or medulla, which serves for 
their support, and that of the constitution generally. 
Bones have nerves, blood vessels and absorbents. 
Bones are capable of reproduction. They are con- 
nected by articulation, which, when moveable, is 
termed & joint. In some cases, as in the skull, bones 
articulate by indentation of the parts, this union is 
termed a suture. Bones may be classed in the fol- 
lowing manner : 

1 . Cylindrical bones, as in the fore-arms. 

2. Flat— as in the shoulder-blades. 

3. Irregular,— as the ribs and bones of the skull. 

The}' are further divided into : 

1. Hollow bones, possessing marrow. 

2. Flat— nearly destitute of marrow, if not altogether. 

A skelleton is an assemblage of the osseous, or bony 
parts of an animal, and is usually divided, when treat- 
ed of, into: 

I.— The head. 
II.— The trunk. 
III.— The exxtremities. 

First Division. — There are, by counting the ten 
facial pairs as twenty bones, seventy-one bones enter- 
ing into the composition of the head of the horse, in- 
cluding forty teeth, the usual number of a horse. The 
mare has usually four less than the horse. The tush- 
es are wanting. 

The head may be divided into two parts, the crani- 
um or skull, and the face. 

The bones which compose the cranium, and which 
contain and protect the brain, are nine in number. 
These nine bones are separate in the foal, at an early 
period of its existence, but soon after birth, they are 
united by what anatomists call sutures, a kind of dove- 



[ a t . j 

tail union, as & cabinet maker would express kimsei£ 

This suture union becomes so firm, that a fracture 

will occur in any other part more readily than over a 

suture. 

Number and Nantes of the Bones of the Cranium. 

The occipital bone, technically called — os occipitis. 

Two frontal bones — ossa frontis. 

Two parietal bones — ossa parietalia. 

Two temporal bones — ossa temporum. 

The sphenoid bone — os sphenoides. 

The ethmoid bone — os ethmoides. 

Description op the Bones of the Cranium. — Tht 
occipital bone is, of all the cranial bones, the largest, 
thickest, and most compact, and in the colt, is com- 
posed of several pieces which uuite b\ r age. It is at 
the upper, and back part of the head, and articulates 
with the first cervical or neck vertebral, called the 
atlas. At its posterior surface it is perforated by a 
large hole, which gives passage to the spinal marrow. 

The frontal hones constitute the forehead, and be- 
hind them is lodged the anterior and inferior portion 
of the brain. A division of their bony surfaces forms 
two cavities, called the frontal sinuses, which are 
lined by the nasal membrane throughout. These 
bones are united by a suture called sagittal suture. 

The parietalia, or wall bones, lie on each side of 
the head, to which the posterior or lower jaw articu- 
lates. 

The two temporals, divided into a squamous and pe- 
trous portion, within which is situated the internal 
ear. 

The sphenoid bone, in form, writers have generally 
compared it with a bat — is hollow and irregular, and 
with the etkiAoides, serves to intersect and attach the 
others; and also, to assist by their cavities in extend- 
ing the pituitary, or smelling membrane. It is call- 
ed ethmoides, or sieve-like, because it is perforated, 
with many holes/ * Through the numerous orifices. 



fine threads of nerves — the olfactories — pass into the 
nasal cavities, to constitute the sense of smell. 

The bones of the face, or facial bones, are ten pairs 
and two single hones. 

Number and Names of the Bones of the Face. 

Nasal pair, technically called — ossa nasi. 

Two angular — ossa lachrymalia. 

Two jugal — ossa m alarum. 

Superior maxillary — ossa maxillaria superioria> 

Superior palatines — ossa palatina superioria. 

Inferior palatines — ossa palatina inferioria. 

The pterygoides — ossa pterygoida. 

The anterior turbinated — ossa turbinata anter- 
ioria. 

The posterior turbinated — ossa turbinata postr- 
ioria. 

Vomer bone — os vomer. 

Posterior maxillary — os maxillare inferius. 

The hyoid bone — os hyoides. 

Intermaxillary bones — these are wanting in man. 

Description of the bones of the face. — The nasal 
bones are slender pieces, meeting in the middle, which 
thus enable the horse to resist hard blows — within 
their union, they hold the septum narium, or cartil- 
aginous plate — the vomer, which separates one nostril 
from another. The bones also greatly assist to ex- 
tend the surface of the smelling organ. The fossa or 
cavities within these bones, are the principal seat of 
glanders, one of the most formidable diseases to which 
the horse is subject. 

The two angular bones, or ossa lachiymalia form a 
considerable portion of the orbits of the eyes, and are 
of the size of a shilling, or rather larger, having a 
groove to conduct the tears into the nose. 

The two jugal, malar or cheek bones, occupy also a 
portion of the orbits. The superior maxillary, or up- 
per jaw bones, are the largest of the facial bones, and 
oontain all the upper molar teeth, or grinders. The 
irrferior. or intermaxillary bones ^xe wanting in man. 



131.] 

in whom the face is short — these bones concur with 
the superior maxillary in forming the alveoli or sock- 
ets, in which the teeth are deeply and firmly fixed. 

The superior palantines, the inferior palatines, the 
pterygoids, the two anterior and the two posterior 
turbinated bones, with the vamer, make up the re- 
maining facial bones, with the exception of the pos- 
terior maxillary, which, on its anterior edge, is pierc- 
ed to lodge the teeth. At the upper part it extends 
into two angular branches, each of which ends in' two 
processes and an intermediate groove. This bone, 
throughout, shows the most admirable mechanism ; the 
molar or grinding teeth, on which most is dependent, 
and whose exertions are the greatest, are placed near 
the centre of motion — and as the upper jaw, in molt 
animals, is fixed, or nearly so, it was necessary that 
the lower should have considerable extent of motion, 
for the purpose of grinding; and it is accordingly so 
formed as to admit of motion in every direction. 

The os hyoides — shaped much like the capital U — 
is a bone situated within the head, at the root of the 
tongue, to which it serves as a support, and for the at- 
tachment of the muscles. 

The teeth of the horse are the hardest and most 
compact bones of the body, of all animals. There arc 
usually forty of them in the horse, and there are thirty- 
six in the mare. In the latter the tushes are usually 
wanting. 

Division, names and number of teeth. — They are 
usually divided into three classes, viz : 

1. Nippers— Incisores, twelve of them. 

2. Tushes— Cu/ipidati, four. 

3. Grinders— Molares, twenty-four— which numbers are equally 
divided between the two jaws. 

Second Division or Bones of the Trunk. — The 
trunk of the skeleton consist of the spine, the pelvis, 
and the chest or thorax, composed of the ribs and 
sternum. 

The bony column, called the spine, consist of fifty 
bones, including fourteen tail-bones, viz : 



L32.J 

Seven neck, or cervical. 

Eighteen back, or dorsal. 

Six loin, or lumbar. 

Five rump, or sacral vertebrae, with the addition of 
thirteen or fourteen small tail-bones, called caudal 
▼ertebrse. 

The pelvis or basin consists of five bones, viz: 

The lower spinal bone, called os sacrum. 

Two broad hip bones — ossa innominata. 

The two lowest points of the spinal bone — ossa coe- 
cygis. 

The thorax or chest consists of thirty- seven bones, 
viz: 

The breast bone, called sternum. 

Thirty-six ribs — costoe. 

It is on this bony column, or the spine, that the 
horse is to cany the burden or weight placed on him, 
and there are two principal things to be coasidered: 
easiness of carriage and strength. If the spine were 
to be composed of unyielding materials, if it resem- 
bled a bar of wood, the jar or jolting of the animal 
could not possibly be endured. To avoid this, the 
back is so constructed as to meet the end for which 
the horse was made — the spine is both flexible, and 
the parts well united with peculiar firmness to afford 
strength to the animal. 

The neck, or cervical vertebrae, called by farriers 
and butchers the "rack bones," seven in number, and 
differ sowewhat in figure; especially do the first and 
second, and present some peculiarities. The first is 
the only one to which the great suspensory ligament 
of the neck does not attach itself, which would have 
interfered with that freedom of motion which is sd 
graceful in this noble animal. It articulates with the 
second by receiving its tubercular process within it, 
and from which process the second of these bones has 
been called dentata, or tooth-like bones. The first 
bone of the neck is called the atlas, so named from 
supporting the head; as Atlas, the philosopher, was 



[33., 

supposed (fabulously) to support the world. Between 
these two neck bones, the atlas and dentata, is situa- 
ted apart, where the spinal marrow is exposed from 
any bony covering, at which part butchers plunge a 
pointed knife into what they call the pith of the neck, 
when they want to kill an animal instantaneously, and 
without effusion of blood; whence it is called pithing. 
The remaining live cervical vertebrae resemble each 
other. 

The backbones, or dorsal vertebrae, are nearly alike 
in structure, except in the length of the spinous pro- 
cess of the first seven or eight. It is owing to these 
elongated spines that we owe the height of the with- 
ers; and as the intention of these parts seems princi- 
pally to serve as lever? for the muscles of the back in- 
serted into them, so we can readily understand why 
their increased or diminished height is favorable or 
unfavorable to moving. These, like the former, ar- 
ticulate with each other by processes, as well as by 
the anterior and posterior surfaces of their bodies; 
between each of which is an intervening substance, 
exceedingly elastic, semi-cartilaginous in its struc- 
ture, convex on both sides, thicker in the centre than 
at the edges, which is ai.alagous to a small cushion, 
thus permitting an easy motion of spine, from its 
peculiar form and compressibility. 

The six loin or lumbar vertebrae, differ from the 
dorsal in being larger, and having very long trans- 
verse processes to make up for the deficiency of the 
ribs in the loin. These bones often unite by the 
pressure of heav r v weights, and spontaneously by age, 
and thus we need not be surprise! at the stiifness 
with which some old horses rise up. The union of 
the back and the loins should be carefully remarked. 
There is sometimes a depression between them; a 
kind of a line is drawn across which slows imperfec 
tion in the construction of the spine, and may be re- 
garded as a sure sign of weakness. 

The five rump, or sacral vertebrae, are united into 



124 . ; 

one to give strength to the column, and to serve as a 
fixed support to the pelvis, or the hinder and lower 
part of the abdomen, in which the bladder and rec- 
lum are contained, or basin, with which it is inter- 
wedged. From this compact and firm union, it will 
appear how admirably this spiral column is adopted 
to its important functions of serving as a flexible but 
powerful support, to the machine; and how by the for- 
mation of a large foramen or opening within the sub- 
stance of each vertebrae, a bony canal is offered for 
the safeguard of the spinal marrow, from which, 
through lateral openings in the vertebrae, the spinal 
nerves ramify, or are given off in pairs. 

The pelvis or basin supported by tins osseous col- 
umn, is composed of the os sacrum, ossa innominata 
and ossa coccygis. The ossa innominata in the foetal 
colt before birth, are each composed of the ilium, the 
ischium, and the pubis, all traces of which divisions 
are lost before birth. The ilium is the most consid- 
erable, and forms the haunches by a large unequal 
protuberance, which, when prominent, occasions the 
horse to be called hipped. The next largest bone is 
the ischium, or hip bone, on each side. The pubis, 
or share-bone, is the least of the three; in conjunc- 
tion with the senium, forms the acetabulum, or cup- 
like cavity, in which the head of the thigh bone 
lodges. The pelvis, as above remarked, is supported 
by the sacral vertebras, and attached to the sacrum, 
by ligaments of prodigious strength; bat has no bony 
union, by which means, as in the fore extremities, 
some play is given, and the jar of pure bony connec- 
tion is avoided. 

The two extreme .sacral vertebrae are termed ossa 
coccygis. The elongation of the spine, or caudal 
vertebrae, are generally about fifteen. These are some- 
times called twirl bones, from the convoiueary motion 
afforded tiie animal in switching Hies and other in- 
sects. 

The throax, or chest, which contains the heart and 



lungs, comprises the sternum or breast bone. The 
sternum of the horse is incline;!, like the keel of a 
ship, to which the ribs are attacked by strong ties. 
The costse or ribs are usually eighteen, in a few in- 
stances nineteen or twenty, to each side: eight artic- 
ulate with the sternum, and are called true ribs, 
while the remaining ten, uniting together by inter- 
vening cartilages, are called false ribs. The centrals 
are the longest, those anterior and posterior are short- 
est. The first is placed perpendicularly, the second 
less so; and their obliquity, as well as dimensions, in- 
crease as they advance, so as to enlarge the chest to 
an almost circular form, which is the most desirable; 
but when ihvy are less arched, the belly partakes of 
the delect, and a flit sided one is commonly a bad 
carcassed horse. 

The Third Division, or Boxes of the Extremi- 
ties. — In the bones of the extremities there is such 
peculiar adaptedness, displaying a mechanism, as 
ought to excite admiration. Of a truth, we are led to 
exclaim, this animal is "wonderfully made.' 1 
Nasaes ol tlie Boiies 01 tlie Anterior Extremities. 

The two shoulder-blades — ossa scapulae. 
Two arm-bones — ossa radii and ossa vlxoe, form- 
ing the humerus. 

Two wrists — ossa carpi. 
Two. canons, or shanks — ossa metacahpi. 
Four splint bones — ossa additaaiexta. 
Pasterns — ossa tall 
Four sesamoids — ossa sesamoides. 
Lesser pasterns — ossa coronis. 
Coffin-bones — ossa tiagii, or astraguli. 
Shuttle- bones — ossa xaviculare. 
Names oi tiie Bones oi* t2ie Posterior Extremities. 
The nppe thigh bones, called ossa femoris. 
Stifle bones — ossa pati:lloe. 
Lewer thigh bones — ossa tibice. 
Outside bones of the leg — ossa fibelge. 
Hock bones — ossa tarsi, formed by six bones. 



I 8 6 . i 

Anterior Extremities. — The scapula or shoulder- 
blade, situated forward on the side of the chest, is a 
broad, flat, and somewhat triangular shaped bone. It 
does not much resemble the human scapula. Its 
superior surface is furnished with a considerable car- 
tilage, by means of which its surface is greatly en- 
larged, without increasing much in weight. The pos- 
terior surface ends in a superficial cavity, called glen- 
oid, or shallow cavity, which receives the head of the 
humerus or the arm bone. It is divided in its upper 
surface by its spine. The shoulder blade has 
neither bony nor ligamentous union, but is held 
in its situation by very powerful muscles. Its usual 
situation is to a blade perpendicular to the horizon, 
at an angle of thirty degrees; and it has a ;notion in 
its greatest extent of twenty degrees; hence as it does 
not pass beyond the perpendicular backwards, so the 
more oblique its natural situation is the more exten- 
sive are its motions. 

The humerus, or arm bone, is so concealed by mus- 
cles as to be overlooked by a cursory observer, and 
hence the radius or next bone below, is usually call- 
ed the arm. It extends from what is called the point 
of the shoulder, out which, in fact, is a proturberance 
of its own elbow, forming an angle with the scapula, 
and extending obliquely backwards as that does tor- 
wards. Near its upper extremity it sends off a very 
powerful head to articulate with the shoulder-blade. 
The motions of the humerus are necessarily confined 
to a removal from lis inclined point backward to the 
perpendicular line of the body. 

The Radius and ulna ok fore-arm. — The fore-arm, 
is strictly speaking, composed of the radius and an 
appendage, the ulna uuited to it. The ulna is a dis- 
tinct bon . >f a horse requires a rotary 
motion, it was unnecessary to be a distinct bone in 
him. VTe here, however, remark, that in the. colt 
the ulna is re tinct; and in the adult horse 
unites with the radius, and serves as an attachment 



[37.1 

to muscles. On the slightest inspection of the skel- 
eton, it will appear how much the motions of the 
fore-leg must depend on the length and obliquity of 
this part of the bone or process, which acting- on the 
principle of a lever in the extension of the arm, must 
necessarily, as it is either long or short, make all the 
difference between a long and a short purchase in its 
mechanical power. The breadth of the arm, as it is 
called, at this part, will, from this reasoning, be seen 
to be very important. A full and swelling fore-arm, 
all agree, is the characteristic of every thorough-bred 
horse, and for speed and continuance is unequalled. 

The carpus, or wrist, called the knee, is composed 
of seven bones, whose principal uses appear to be to 
extend the surface of attachment of ligaments 
and tendons, and by their interruptions to 
lessen the shocks of moving or of progression. The 
carpal or wrist bones articulate with each other, and 
have one investing capsular, or chest-like ligament, 
by which means the smallest wound of the knee that 
penetrates this ligament, has the effect of opening 
the whole joint; hence the quantity of synovia or 
joint oil, which escapes in these cases, and, hence 
also the dangerous consequences which ensue. 

The metacarpus, shank or canon, is formed of one 
large meta-carpal bone and two smaller ones, called 
splint bones, which are united with it by strong liga- 
mentary attachments, converted by age into a bony 
one. The inner splint bone is placed nearer the cen- 
ter of the weight of the body than the other, and 
from the nature of its connection with the bones of 
the knee, actually receives more of the weight than 
does the outer bone, and therefore is more liable to 
injury and inflamation, and the consequent displacing 
the oone. The inner bone receives the whole of the 
weight transmitted to one of the ^mall bones of the 
knee. It is the only support of that bone. A por- 
tion only of one of the bones rests on the outer splint 
bone, and the weight is shared between it and shank. 



[38. ] 
i 

The pasterns, or ossa tali, between the metacarpus 
and the hoof, constitute the extremity below the 
common shank, and consists of one phalange only, 
comprising all the mechanism and a double portion 
of complexity of all the phalanges in the digitated or 
fingered tribes. Four hones enter into its composi- 
tion with two small bones, resembling an Indian 
bean, called sesamoides, to each fetlock; placed there, 
not only to act as a spring and prevent concussion, 
but to throw the tendon of the foot, which runs over 
them, farther from the center of motion. The pastern 
bone, or ostalis, is situated obliquely forward, and on 
this obliquity depends the ease and elasticity of the 
motion of the animal; nevertheless, when it is too 
long, it requires great efforts in the tendons and lig- 
aments to preserve it in its situation; and thus long- 
jointed horses must be more subject to fatigue and 
to strains than others. 

The lesser pastern, or coronary bone, receives the 
greater, and below expands into a considerable sur- 
face articulating with the coffin and navicular bones. 
The coffin bone forms the third phalange, and cor- 
responds in shape with the hoof. It is very porous, 
and laterally receives two prominent cartilages. It 
is around the outer surface of this bone that the sen- 
sible laminae are attached; and the inferior surface 
receives the flex or tendon. The navicular nut, or 
shuttle bone, is situated at the posterior part of the 
coffin, and unites with that and the preceding bone. 

Posterior Extremeties. — The posterior differ much 
from the anterior, not only in their superior strength, 
and in their different lengths and direction of the 
parts, but also in some degree in their uses. • 

In our description of the hinder extremities, we 
will begin with the haunch bone, which is composed 
of three bones, the ilium, ischium, and pubis. The 
first is principally concerned in the formation of the 
haunch. Its extended brandies behind the flanks 
are prominent in every horse, and when they are 



39. j 

more than usually wide, the animal is said to be rag- 
ged hipped. A branch runs up the spine at the 
commencement of the sacral vertebrae, and here the 
haunch bones are firmly united with the bones of 
spine. The ischius, or hip bone, is behind and be- 
low the ilium. The pubis unites with the former 
two below and behind. 

The femur, or thigh bone, is the largest of the 
body, its vast indentations and risings, almost pecu- 
liar to itself, show the great strength of the muscles 
inserted into it. It articulates with the acetabulum, 
the socket for the head of the thigh bone, or hip 
joint, by a strong head called a whirl bone. In this 
situation it is held not only by a powerful capsular 
ligament, and still more powerful muscles, but by an 
admirable contrivance resulting from a ligamentary 
rope, which springs immediately from the middle of 
its head, and is firmly fixed within the socket joint. 
In its natural situation it is not perendicular as in 
the human femur, but inclines to an angle of about 
forty five degrees. This bone presents large protu- 
berances for the attachment of very powerul muscles 
called trochanters, from the Greek, trochao, to run or 
roll. Throughout it exhibits a mechanism uniting 
combined qualities of speed and strength unknown 
to other animals. The lower end of this bone is re- 
ceived by its condyles, (knots of joints) into the 
deep depressions of the tibia, while the patella or 
knee-pan slides over the anterior portions of both 
bones. 

The patella, answering to the knee-pan in the hu- 
man subject, and which is commonly called the stifle, 
is nearly angular, and serves for the insertion of 
some of the strongest muscles of the thigh, which 
are then continued down the leg. It thus appears 
to act as a pulley. 

The tibia, or leg bone, is usually called the thigh 
by horsemen. It is a bone formed of a large epiph- 
ysis, (a process attached to a bone, and not a part of 



[40.] 

the same;) with a small attached part called the fib- 
ula, a long body and an irregular lower end, adapted 
to the particularities in the shape of the princi- 
pal bones of the back, with which it articulates. The 
obliquity in the situation of this bone corresponds 
with that of the femur, being as oblique backwards 
as the former is forwards. The length of the tibia is 
e prominent character in all animals of speed; in 
this respect it corresponds with the fore-arm, and 
the remarks made on that apply, with even more 
force, to this — that length is advantageous to speed, 
but less to ease of motion. 

The fibula forms a prominent instance, in common 
with splint bones, of what we remarked above, in our 
detail of the extremeties — that many parts, whose 
uses did not strike the unobservant, would be found 
to be organs of harmony, placed in the body to pre- 
vent interruption to completing the general plan of 
animal organization. In this way the fibula appears 
but a process springing from the posterior part of 
the tibia, forming but the rudiments of the human 
bone of that name. 

The tursus, or the hock of the horse, is a striking 
instance of the perfect mechanism displa3 r ed in the 
bon}' structure of this admired animal. It is formed 
by an assembly of six bones, and sometimes of seven. 
As the human anatomy is generally received as the 
standard of comparison, we must, in order to a prop- 
er consideration of the hock, consider it as the in- 
step and the heel, and all the parts beyond it as the 
foot. The human tarsus makes a right augle with 
the tibia in standing or walking; but, in the horse, 
the hock makes one open angle with the tibia, and is 
far removed from the ground. In him, and the 
greater part of the upright quadrupeds, all the bones 
from the hock downwards are much elongated, and 
form a part of the upright pillar of the limb. In the 
horse, therefore, the point of the hock is the true 
point of the heel, and, as in the human figure, the 



141.1 

great twisted tendons of the gastrocnetnii (calf or 
belly of the leg,) muscles are inserted into it; but 
the appellation of tendo Achilles would be rather 
forced here. A broad hock, as alre-'id}- observed in 
the exterior conformation, may be now still more 
plainly seen to be very important to strength and 
speed; for the longer the catcaneum or heel bone of 
the hock, the longer must be the iever that the mus- 
cles of the tuigh act by; and a very slight increase 
or diminution in its length must make a very great 
difference in the power of the joint. It is by this 
tendon acting on this mechanism, that, when the 
animal has inclined the angle between the canon 
and the tibia, or, in other words, when the extremi- 
ties are bent under him in the gallop or trot, he is 
enabled to open it again. 

The bones of the hock, like those of the knee, are 
united together by strong ligamentous libers; and it 
is an inflamation of those uniting the calcaneum and 
cuboid bones, that the disease called a curb, is to be 
attributed; and to a similar inflamatory affection of 
the ligaments of the front hock, the spavins of the 
first stage are owing; in the latter stages the peri- 
toneum and bones themselves becom affected. The 
remainder of the bones below do not differ so essen- 
tially from the corresponding bones in the fore leg 
as to need a separate description. 

We shall here close our remarks on the bony base 
of the horse, and add a few brief extracts on the ap- 
pendages of the bones, and define the names of the 
muscular and nervous structure of animals. The 
limits of the work do not allow us to enter systemat- 
ically into a detail of those parts. But when we 
treat of diseases, we shall, as the nature and case 
may demand, describe more fully" the muscular and 
nervous structure with their constituents. 

The appendages to the bones are caflfcilage and 
gristle, the periosteum, the marrow, the ligaments, 
and the synovia or joint oil. 



The ligaments are compact, fibrous substances, 
which serve as a connecting medium between the 
bones. They possess great strength, and are com- 
mon to every part of the body. 

The synovia or joint oil is secreted from the living 
membrane of the joints, and affords a slippery me- 
dium that enables the bones to glide readily over 
each other. 

Muscle is that part of the body of the horse term- 
ed flesh, to distinguish it from the skin, gristle, bone, 
ligament, &c. The muscles are composed of reddish 
fibers. All the motions of the animal are performed 
by means of the muscles 

Tendons are inelastic, tough, fibrous substances, 
of a whitish color. 

The arteries are long, membranous canals. They 
gradually decrease in their diameter, as they pro- 
ceed from the heart; They terminate in veins, and 
in exhalent openings, by means of which sweat is 
produced. The use of the arteries is to convey the 
blood from the heart to the different parts of the body. 

The veins are vessels which return the blood of 
the body which has been distributed to it. They 
are less solid and more numerous than the arteries. 

The absorbent system of the horse is composed of 
the l}'mphatics and lacteals, which are thin and 
transparent, having great strength and power of 
contractibility. Where they become very minute, 
they are termed capillaries. 

The nervous system of the horse is composed of 
white medullary cords springing from the brain and 
spinal marrow. Their internal structure is fibrous, 
and they spread themselves over every part of the 
bocVy. The brain is considered the seat of sensation 
and volition, and nerves are deemed the messengers 
to convey it through the system. 

The glands are a numerous set of secretory bodies, 
composed of ail the different vessels, enclosed in the 
membrane. 






t 43. j 

Hair is the clothing of brutes. It is a production 
of the skin. It varies in color, and is designed both 
for ornament and use. 

The cuticle is placed immediately under the hair, 
and is a hard and insensible covering. 

The cutis, or true skin, is situated immediately un- 
der the hair and cuticle. It is the general in vesture 
of the body, possesses exquisite sensibility, and con- 
stitutes the true organ of touch. It is gelatinous, 
and is used in the manufacture of glue. 

The cellular n embrane and fat constitute 
considerable portions of most animals. The adi- 
pose membrane is cellular, and extends over most 
parts of the body. The cells communicate with 
each other. The fat is the unctuous juice secreted 
in these cells. 

The brain is situated in the hollow of the skull, 
surrounded by two coverings, between which lies a 
third membrane. The brain has four ventricles or 
cavities, together with many prominences. The anal- 
ogy between the human brain and that of the horse 
is very strong. 

The ear of the horse, in its internal condition, dif- 
fers but little from the same organ in man, 

The eyes of the horse are not, like those in man, 
placed directly in front, but incline laterally. The 
e3 r elids are an upper and an under, moved by mus- 
cles, and forming an admirable curtain to protect 
the eye from extraneous matter. The globe oi' the 
eye is composed of conts, chambers and humors. 
The cornea, which is transparent, is formed of thin 
concentric plates, of different degrees of convexity in 
different animals. The corner is full of vessels, and 
in an inflamed state admits the red blood, as may be 
seen by the universal redness over the whole. 

The pupil of the eye is the perforation that is seen, 
annular in human, oblong in the horse, ox and sheep, 
and perpendicular in the cat. It is an apperture in 
the membrane, termed the iris, on which the color 



L44.T 

of the eye depends. In the horse it is usually brown, 
occasionally white, when the animal is said to be 
wall eyed. 

The humors of the eye are the vitreous, thechrys- 
taline, and the aqueous. The vitreous humor is of a 
jelly-like consistence, and occupies all the globe, ex- 
cept those parts taken up b^y the other humors. The 
chrystaline humor forms a lenticular body of moder- 
ate consistence, and is properly termed a lens. It is 
doubly convex. It is a diseased opacity of this body 
that forms a cataract. The aqueous humor is a lim- 
pid liquid that fills up the spaces not occupied by 
those already described. 

The motions of the ej-e-ball are made by means of 
seven muscles. 

The criteria of soundness in the eyes arc gained 
by a careful examination of them, and which expe- 
rience has shown to be best made by placing the 
horse within a stable, with his head nearly approach- 
ing the stable door, which should be -fully open. 
Small eyes are found more prone to inflamation than 
large, and large goggling eyes are liable to accompa- 
ny a starting horse more than lesser ones; and when 
the convexity is extreme, not only is the starting in 
proportion, but such eyes are more liable than others 
to become affected with the disease commonly called 
glass e a yes, but correctly gutta serena. It is not, 
however, to be understood that all starters have de- 
fective eyes; many are so from natural timidity, and 
still more, from hard usage and bad management in 
breaking and handling. , The eyes should be exam- 
ined together, not only to observe whether each pre 
sents an equal degree of clearness in the transparent 
part and within the pupil, but also that an equal de- 
gree of contraction exists between each of the pupils. 
This is of much consequence. If an inequality in 
size and form be observable between the pupils, the 
least of them has been in some way affected, and 
will probably become so again. It is even more sus- 



L 4 5 . j 

picious when a turbid milkiness appears on any 
part of the transparent portion; and equally so when 
the inferior part looks other than clear; or in a very 
strong light, with a lively bluish tinge. When it is 
all turbid, viewed under various aspects, regard it 
attentively, and there may probably be found an in- 
ward speck of perfect white, which is the nucleus or 
central point of an incipient cataract. A glassy, 
greenish cast in the eye should always excite suspi- 
cion. Such eyes are not unfrequently totally blind. 

The nose or organ of smell, in most quadrupeds, 
is next in importance to that of the eye. Its sensi- 
bility is derived from the olfactory nerves, spread 
over its surface. It is this membrane which is the 
seat of the glanders. The horse breathes in all or- 
dinary cases through the nostrils. 

The external parts of the mouth are the lips, cheek 
and beard. The lips are flesh}' masses, covered with 
skin, and forming the organ of touch. The cheeks 
are muscular and moveable, and furnished with hair. 

The internal parts of the mouth are the teeth, the 
gums, the aveolary edges, the palate, the tongue and 
the parts of the great posterior cavity. The gums 
are a spongy substance which hold fast the teeth. 
The palate forms a bony arch, covered b} T membrane- 
uos folds, which arc apt, when the stomach is affect- 
ed, to become swollen, and this is called the lampers. 

The tongue is a long fleshy mass, adapting itself 
below, to the form of the channel, and above, to the 
arch of the palate. It is a principal organ in masti- 
cation. 

The pharynx is formed, by the termination of the 
mouth and no 

The larynx is placed at the : - part of the 

cavity, and forms a kind of cartilaginous box, or 
entrance b a moveable 

door, which tills up the ea\ »y the arch of 

the palate curtain, thereby closi . v:y of the 



[46.] 

mouth and forcing the animal to breathe through 
his no 

The parotid glands, or in the language of farriers, 
the vives, are two pretty large holies on each side of 
the head, extending from the base of the ear around 
the angle of the jaw. Each parotid gland has little 
ducts, uniting into one and entering the mouth about 
the second molar tooth. These glands furnish saliva 
for the use of the mouth, and it is a gathering in 
them that constitutes the strangles in young horses. 
The external parts of the neck are the common cov 
erings, the cervical ligament, the muscles, and the 
jugular or neck veins. 

The internal parts of the neck are the vertebrae, 
which pass the spinal ma now: the carotid arteries, 
ss up under the jugular veins; the trachea 
or wind-pipe, for the transmission of air; and the 
esophagus, a continuation of the funnel-like cavity 
of the pharynx. 

hen the chest of the horse is opened, a smooth 
polished membrane is seen, covering its contents, 
which is called the pleura. 

The diaphragm or midriff, divides the chest from 
the bell}' by its disk, and is a very important part of 
the body of the horse. 

The heart is the great agent of circulation, and is 
composed of membranous and muscular fibres, having 
four principal cavities and several openings. 

The lungs are spungy masses, divided into right 

and left, with lesser divisions termed lobes. Their 

color, in a colt, is a light lively pink; in a fall grown 

:. iproach to a gray tint. These parts are 

extremelv liable to inflammation. 

The viscera of the abdomen includes the stomache 

the lobes of the liver; tiie omentum or caul to the 

inferior curvature of the stomache; the spleen, 

the kidneys; the rectum; the ovaria; the uterus; the 

bladder; the diaphragm; the gullet; the trachea, etc. 

The abdomen, or cavity of the belly, forms an oval 



[47. | 

vault, and is the largest cavity of the body. 

elastic and strong. 

The horse has but one stomach, and that is a small 
one. It is peculiarly constructed. It is immediately 
contiguous to the diaphragm, or great breathing 
muscle. This accounts for the difficulty of respira- 
tion after full meal. 

The intestines are not merely secreting organs, but 
possess digestive character; and may be considered 
as continuations of the stomachic viscera. This is 
more particularly the case with the small intestines. 

The spleen or milt, is a very spungy body situated 
at the greater extremity of the stomach. 

The kidneys are two excremerit-.il glands, placed in 
the lumbar region, the right more anterior than the 
left. From the cavities of the kidneys, the duct 
termed the ureter passes out, and carries off the urine 
secreted within them. These ureters conveys the 
urine to the bladder. 

The bladder of the horse is a membraneous sack 
for the reception of the urine, raising on the pubis, 
immediately under the rectum. To the bladder is 
attached a membraneous pipe called the urethra, 
which passes through the penis, and by that means 
ejects the urine. 

The male organs of generation in the horse, are the 
testicles, which are two in number. 

The penis or yard, is a long body, in one part nearly 
prismatic, and in another, cylindrical. It is composed 
of two flattened portions closely connected, a spongy 
canal, which is the urethra above mentioned, and the 
glands or head 

luiiaraxmation of the Lungs. 

There is no animal among all those subdue 1 that 
previous to his breaking in, is so free from disease as 
the horse; there is no animal which, after he has been 
eniiste'l in our service, is so liable to disease, and 
especially at the lungs. How do we account for this? 
Few things can be more injurious to the delicate mem- 



brane that lines the cells of the lungs, than the sud- 
den change from heat to cold, to which, under the 
usual stable management, the horse is subject, In 
the spring and autumn, the temperature or heat of 
most stables is several degrees higher than that of 
the open air; in winter it is frequently more than 
grees. The necessary effect of this must be 
:en and exhaust the energies of the parts most 
exposed to the influence of these change's, and they 
are the lungs. It is, however, not only heated but 
empoisoned air that the horse respires; composed of 
his own contaminated breath, and of vapors from his 
, and particularly from his brine, strongly im- 
pregnated with hartshorn, painful to the eyes and 
irritating to the chest. 

There is likewise an intimate connection between 

the lungs and the functions of the skin. When the 

isible prespiration is suddenly stopped, cold and 

■ the first consequences. What must inevit- 

blv happen to the horse that stands, twenty hours out 

of the four and twenty, in a heated atmosphere, and 

warmly clothed, and every pore of his 

skin op "ned, and the insensible prespiration, and the 

too, profusely pouring out, and then, with 

• ■ ,'t stripp (1 from his back, is turned shivering 

a nipping winter's air? The discharge from the 

skin is once arrested, and the revulsion, or perni- 

t of the sudd -a stoppage of a natural ev&e- 

. - . ; ;i the lungs, too much weakened, and 

to inflammation by heated air and poison- 

imple observations are pregnant with interest 

: ion to all connected with horses. He 

lid have his stud free from disease, and es- 

lungs, must pursue two objects: 

I el >. In the gentleman's stable, 

of these is studiously avoided, from the 

or the idleness of the groum, and from these 

■ ■ . I most of the cases of inflamed lungs; 



especially when this heat is combined with that tem- 
porary and mischievous nuisance, the repeated breath- 
ing of the same air during the night, and that air 
more vitiated by the fumes of the dung and urine. 
In the stables of the post-rider, where not only close- 
ness and heat, but the tilth that would not be endured 
in a gentleman's establishment, are found, both in- 
flammation of the lungs and glanders prevail; and in 
the stables of many agriculturists, cool enough from 
the poverty or carelessness of the owner, but choked 
with filth, inflammation of the lungs is seldom seen, 
but mange, glanders, and farcy abound. 

Symtoms. — Inflammation of the substance of the 
lungs is sometimes sudden in its attack, but generally 
preceded by symptoms of fever. The pulse is occa- 
sionally not much increased in frequency, but op- 
pressed and indistinct; the artery is plainly to be felt 
under the finger, and of its usual size, but the pulse 
no longer indicates the expansion of the vessel, as it 
yields to the gush of blood, and its contraction when 
the blood has passed; it is rather a vibration or thrill, 
communicated to a fluid already over-distending the 
artery; in a few cases, even this almost eludes the 
most delicate touch, and scarcely any pulsation is to 
be detected. The extremities are cold ; the nostril is 
expanded; the head thrust out, and the flanks begin 
to heave. There is a peculiarity in the working of 
the flank. It is not the deep laborious breathing of 
fever, nor the irregular beating of the broken wind, 
in which the air appears to be drawn in by one effort, 
while two seem to be necessaiy to expel it; but it is 
a quick hurried motion, evidently expressive of pain, 
and of inability to complete the action, on account of 
the pain, or of some mechanical obstruction. The 
membrane of the nose is of an intensely florid red — 
more vivid in the inside corners of the nostrils, and 
remaining concentrated there, if at times it should 
seem to fade away higher up. The countenance is 
singularly anxious, and indicative of suffering, and 



many a mournful look is directed at the Hanks. The 
horse stands in a singular manner, stiff, with his fore- 
legs abroad, that the chest may be expanded as much 
as possible, and he is unwilling to move, lest for a 
moment he should lose the assistance of the muscles 
of the arms and shoulders, in producing that expan- 
sion; and for the same reason, he obstinately stands 
up day after day, and night after night; or if he lies 
down from absolute fatigue, it is but for a moment. 

la many instances, however, the approach of the 
disease is very treacherous, and the most careful 
practitioner may be deceived. The groom may pre- 
ceive that the horse is somewhat off his feed, and 
dull, but he pays little attention to it; or if it arrests 
his notice, he only finds that the coat stares a little, 
that the legs are colder than usual, and the breathing 
in a slight degree quickened and shortened. In other 
cases, the symptoms are those of common fever, 
catarrh, or distemper; and the characteristics of true 
inflammation of the lungs appear late and unexpect- 
edly. The cold leg and ear, the quickened, not deep- 
ened inspiration, the disinclination to lie down, and 
the anxious countenance, will always alarm the ex- 
perienced observer. 

Whatever may be the state of the pulse at first, it 
soon becomes oppressed, irregular, indistinct, and at 
length almost imperceptible. The heart is laboring 
in vain to push on the column of blood with which 
the vessels are distended, and the flow of which is 
obstructed by the clogged- up passages of the lungs. 
The legs and ears, which were cold before, become 
more intensely so — it is a clayey, deathly coldness. 
The mouth soon participates in it, and the breath too. 
The bright red of the nostril fades away, or darkens 
to a livid purple. The animal grinds his teeth. He 
still persists in standing, although he often staggers 
and almost falls; at length he drops, aud after a few 
struggles he dies. 

The duration of the dixea.se is singularly uncertain. 



! 5 1 • 

It will occasionally destroy in less than twenty four 
hours, and then the lungs present one confused and 
disorganized mass of blackness, and would lead the 
inexperienced person to imagine that long inflamma- 
tion had gradually so completely broken down the 
substance of the lnngs. Such a horse is said to die 
rotten, and many attempts have been made to prove 
that he must have been unsound for a great while, 
and prooably before he came into his last owner's 
possession, and some expensive law suits have been 
instituted on this ground. Let our readers, however, 
be assured, that this black, decomposed appearauce 
of the lungs proves no disease of long standing, but 
inflammation intense in its nature, and that has very 
speedly run its course. The horse has died from suf- 
focation, every portion of the lungs being choked up 
with this black blood, which has even broken into 
and tilled all the air-cells by means of which it should 
have been purified. 

More frequently the disease lasts a little longer. 
The lungs are sufficiently pervious for some blood to 
be transmitted, but the inflammation is too great to 
be subdued, or proper means have been taken to sub- 
due it; and it rune its usual course, and proceeds to 
actual mortification, and the lungs are found not only 
black, but putrid. This, too, w r ould prove recent and 
violent inflammation, and not any old and unsuspected 
disease. This termination would be indicated, a day 
or two before the death of the animal, by the stinking 
breath and offensive discharge from the nose. 

A frequent, and to the practioner and the owner, a 
most annoying termination of inflammation of the 
lungs, is drops}' in the chest. The disease seems to 
be subdued; the horse is more lively; his appetite 
returns; his legs and ears become warm; and those 
about him are deceived into the belief that he is do- 
ing well; nay, the most skillful surgeon is sometimes 
deceived. The anxiety to save his patient makes him 
hope the best, although the coat continueS'anhealthy, 



there is a yellow discbarge from the nostrils, the pulse 
irregular, and the horse is frightened if suddenly 
moved, and especially it' his head be considerably 
raised in the act of drenching, and he rarely or never 
lies down. Many days or some weeks will pass on, 
with these contradictory and unsatisfactory appear- 
ances; and a judgment of the result can only be 
formed by ballancing them against each other. At 
length the patient shivers, the old symptoms return, 
and he very soon dies. On opening him, both sides 
of the chest are found nearly idled with fluid, imped- 
ing the pulsation of the heart, and the expansion of 
the lungs, and destroying the horse by suffocation. 

Although the life of the horse may be saved, the 
consequences of inflammation of the lungs may often 
materially lessen, or even destroy the usefulness of 
the animal. A.s in many external inflammations con- 
siderable thickening of the part long remains, so a 
deposit of the coagulable portion of the blood may be 
left in the substance of the lungs, occupyiug the place 
of many of the air cells, and preventing the contrac- 
tion and closing of others. This produces the pecu- 
liarity of breathing, almost incompatible with speed 
or continuance, called thick wind; and frequently 
precedes broken wind, when from the violent action 
thus impeded by the obstruction we have described, 
some of the air-cells become ruptured. Too frequent}*, 
considerable irritability remains in the membrane 
lining the air-cells, and in other portions of the air- 
passages, and a cough is established, which, from its 
continuance, and the difficulty of its removal, is called 
chronic cough. We have already considered inflam- 
mation of the lungs, as one of the causes of roaring. 

Treatment. — The treatment of inflamation of the 
lungs must evidently be of one most decisive kind. 
We have to struggle with a disease intense in its 
character, and we must attempt radically to cure, and 
not merely to palliate it. We must look to the future 
usefulness of the horse, and not to the possibility of 



his being enabled to drag on an existence almost in- 
comfortable to himself. Supposing the attack to ha w 
just commenced, the horse should be bled, not only 
until the pulse begins to rise, but until it afterwards 
begins to flutter or stop, or the animal is evidently 
faint. The effect of the bleeding, and not the quan- 
tity of the blood taken, should be regarded; for the 
inflammation being subdued, the lost blood will soon 
be supplied again. This is one of the cases in which it 
is absolutely necessary that the surgeon, or the owner, 
should stand by with his finger on the pulse and 
mark the effect that is produced. If, six hours after- 
wards, the horse continues to stand stiff, and heaves 
as quickly and laboriously as before, and the legs are 
as intensely cold, and the membrane of the nose as 
red, the bleeding should be repeated, until the same 
etfect again follows. In the majority of cases the in- 
flammation will be now subdued. A third bleeding 
may. however, sometimes be necessary, but must not 
be carried to the same extent, for it is possible, by 
too great evacuation of blood, to subdue not merely 
the disease, but the powers of nature. If, after this, 
the legs become cold, and the heaving returns, and 
the membrane of the nose reddens, and the horse per- 
sists in standing, bleedings to the extent of two or 
three quarts will be advisable, to prevent the re-es- 
tablishment of the disease. In all these bleedings, 
let not the necessity of a broad shouldered tleam or 
lancet, and a full stream of blood be forgotten. These 
are circumstances of far more importance than is 
generally imagined. The appearance of the blood 
will be'some guide in our treatntent of the case. The 
thickness of the ndhesive buffy, yellow colored coat, 
which in a few hours will appear on it, will mark 
with some degree of accuracy the extent of the in- 
flammation. Not '-egardless of the appearance of the 
blood, but not putting too much faith in it. we must 
look to the horse to determine how far that inflam- 



L » .4 . 1 

mation may have been diminished, or a repetition of 
the bleeding be necessary. 

When the bleeding has evidently taken effect, we 
must consider by what means we may further abate 
or prevent the return of the inflammation. We should 
blister the whole of the brisket, and the sides, as high 
up as the elbows. Blisters are far preferable to 
rowels. They acton a more extensive surface; they 
produce a great deal more inflammation; and they 
are speedier in their action. 

To insure the full operation of the blister, the hair 
must be closely shaved, and an ointment composed of 
one part of powdered Spanish flies, and four of lard 
and one of resin, well rubbed in. The lard and resin 
should be melted together, and the powdered flies 
afterwards added. 

To form a rowel, the skin is raised between the 
finger and thumb, and, with a lancet, or scissors con- 
trived for the purpose, a slit is cut an inch in length. 
Into this a piece of tow is inserted, sufficient to lill it, 
arid previously besmeared with blister ointment. 
This causes considerable inflammation and discharge. 
If a little of the tow be left sticking out of the incis- 
ion, the discharge will conveniently dribble down it. 
The tow should be changed every day, with or with- 
out the ointment, according to the action of the rowel, 
or the urgency of the case. The large piece of stiff 
leather, with a hole in its center, used by the farrier, 
is objectionable, as not being easily changed, and 
frequently, in the extraction of it, tearing the skin so 
as to cause a lasting blemish. 

The blister sometimes will not rise. It will not 
when the inflammation of the chest is a 1 its greatest 
intensity; too much action is going on there, for any 
to be excited elsewhere. The blister occasionally 
will not act in the latter stages of the disease, because 
the powers of nature are exhausted. It is always a 
most unfavorable symptom when the blisters or the 
rowels do not take effect. The best time for the ap- 



55 

n 



plication of tlie blister, is when the inilamatioi 
somewhat subdued by the bleeding; and then by the 
irritation which it excites, and in a part so near tin* 
original seat of disease, the inflammation of the chest 
is neither abated or transferred to the skin; for, it is 
an important law of nature, that no two violent ac- 
tions of different kinds can take place in the frame 
at the same time. 

Next comes the aid of medicine. If the patient 
was a human being, the surgeon would immediately 
purge him. We must not do this; for from sympathy 
between the bowels and the lungs in the horse, we 
should either produce a fatal extension of inflamma- 
tion, or a transferring of it in a more violent form, 
and the horse would assuredly die. We must back- 
rake, administer clysters, or perhaps give eight 
ounces epsom salts, dissolved in warm gruel. No 
castor oil must be given. It may be a mild and safe 
aperient for the human being; it is a very dangerous 
one for the horse. 

Having a little relaxed the bowels, we eagerly turn 
to cooling or sedative medicines. The farrier gives 
his cordial to support the animal, and prevent rotten- 
ness. He adds fuel to the fire, and no wonder the 
edifice is frequently destroyed. Nitre, digitails, and 
emetic tartar, should be given in the doses already 
recommended, and persisted in until an intermittent 
state of the pulse is produced. Many practitioners 
give hellebore in doses of half a dram, or two scru- 
ples, every six or eight hours, and they say with con- 
siderable advantage. It is continued until the horse 
hangs his head, and saliva drivels from his mouth, 
and he becomes half stupid, and half delerious These 
symptoms pass mvr in a few hours, and the inflam- 
mation of the chest is found to he abated. If it be 
so, it is on the principle of the blister, the determi- 
nation of blood to the head, and the temporary ex- 
citement of the brain or its membranes, divert the 
inflammation or a portion of it from its original seat. 



and give the time for the parts somewhat to recover 
their tone. We confess that we prefer the digi tails, 
emetic tartar, and nitre; they considerably lower the 
pulse, and are safe. 

It is of importance that we determine the blood, or 
a portion of it, from the inflamed and over-distended 
part to some other region. On this principle we may 
warmly clothe the horse laboring under this disease, 
that we may cause the blood to circulate freely through 
the vessels of the skin, and that we may keep up the 
insensible perspiration, and perhaps produce some 
sweating. But do we put the horse in a warm place? 
No; for then we should bring the heated and poisoned 
air in contact with the inflamed lungs, and increase 
the excitement, already too great. It is an absurd 
practice to shut up every door and window, and ex- 
clude, if possible, every breath of air; rather let every 
door and window be thrown open, and let pure and 
cold air find access to these heated parts. It is in- 
teresting to see how eagerly the horse avails himself 
of the relief which this affords him. If no direct 
draft blows against him, he can scarcely be placed in 
too cool a stall or stable. 

Now and then the whole skin of the horse may be 
rubbed with the brush, if it does not tease and worry 
him; but it is indispensible that the legs should be 
frequently and well hand-rubbed to restore to circu- 
lation in them, and they should be covered with thick 
flannel bandages. As to food, we do not want him to 
take any at first, and most certainly the horse should 
not be coaxed to eat. A very small quantity of hay 
may be given to amuse him, or a coal mash, or green 
meat (food), but not a particle of corn. 

In eight-and-lbrty hours the fate of the patient will 
generally be decided. If there be no remission of 
symptom, the inflammation will run on to congestion 
of the lungs, and consequent suffocation, or to gan- 
grene. We must, in this case, give the medicines 
more frequently; repeat the blister: bleed if the stale 



5 7. ] 

of the animal will bear it; and rub the legs or even 
scald them. If the strength now rapidly declines, 
the horse may be drenched with gruel, and tonic 
medicine may be tried, as camomile at first, and this 
not recalling or increasing the fever, a little ginger 
and gentian may be added. 

Should the heaving gradually subside, and the 
legs get warm, and the horse lie down, and the in- 
flammation be apparently subsiding, let not the owner 
or practitioner be in too great haste to get the animal 
well. Nature will slowly, but surely and safely, re 
store the appetite and strength; and it is very easy 
to bring back the malady in all its violence b}^ attempt- 
ing to hurry her. The food should be the same, cold 
mashes, green meat, or a little hay, if green meat can 
not be procured, and thin gruel drank from the pail 
— not given as a drench. Should the horse be very 
weak, or scarcely eat, tonics may be tried. The way 
should be felt very eautiousU r with th,e camomile, and 
the sedative medicine be immediately resorted to if 
there be the slightest return of fever. To the camo- 
mile, the gentian and ginger may be gradually added, 
but no mineral tonic. After a while, hay may be offered 
and a little^ corn, and the horse is suffered very grad- 
ually to return to his former habits. 

The causes of inflammation of the lungs are changes 
from cold to heat, or heat to cold; exposures to cold 
while the horse is hot; washing with cold water im- 
mediately after exercise; sudden exposure to cold, 
after coining from a hot stable; traveling in the face 
of a cold wind; the transference of general fever to 
the lungs previously disposed to inflammation from 
the usual stable management; and neglected catarrh, 
or catarrh treated with stimulants instead of cooling 
medicines. Any change from heat to cold, or cold to 
heat, will produce it with almost equal certainty; the 
removal from a warm stable to a cold one, or from 
a cold one to warmer; from grass to the stable, and 
from the stable to grass^ will equally give rise to dis- 



[58.] 

ease of the lungs. It is generally the effect of our 

erroneous system of management. 

We shall presently state the syptoms of which in- 
flammation of the lungs may be distinguished from 
catarrh fever. It may be distinguished from inflam- 
mation of the bowels by the pulse, which, in the lat- 
ter disease, is small and wiry; by the membrane of 
the nose, which is not then so much reddened; by 
the indication of pain as kicking at the bell}", stamp- 
ing, and rolling; by his eager scraping of the litter, 
and by the belly being painful to the touch, and also 
hot, when the bowels are inflamed. 

We are. from our limited knowledge of physiology, 
aware that there is a great sympathy between the 
bowels and lungs in a horse, and believe that the 
practice of violent purging would prove fatal in most 
cases of pneumonia or inflammation of the lungs in 
the horse, yet we believe that the great via or open- 
ing, should be unobstructed when the subject labors 
under this disease. Drastic purgatives are at all 
times more injurious than beneficial. 

The treatment of this disease varies in many par 
ticulars, but the general one is, depletion; free blood 
letting, and emollient laxatives. If this e<5urse is pur- 
sued in the first stage of the disease, the animal may 
recover; but if it let run on a short time, the horse 
must die. 

Some recommend copious bleeding, then follow 
it by purgative. 

Laxative. 

Take liquid bacon, (lard), one-quarter of a pound; 
olive oil, one-half pound; extract of acacia bark, four 
ounces; wine, one pint; drench the horse. If this 
does not operate by night, inject the following clys- 
ter, and repeat the laxative immediately afterwards. 
No. G. Sect. 130. A Clyster. 

I>rink for Heaving; of Lungs. 

Take hyssop, dill, of each two hanctsful; fleur-de- 
lis, (flag-flower), one ounce; hoarhound, origan, of 



L 39 • 1 

each, one-half ounce; licorice root, two ounces; but- 
ter, one-quarter of a pound, and one-quarter of honey 
water; mix — decoct, and administer one-half of it 
at once. 

The breast of the horse should be daily greased 
with the following ointment: 

Duck oil, one ounce; butter, one quarter of a 
pound ; oil of rue, and flag-flowers, of each, four drams ; 
mix — anoint. This should be succeeded by giving 
the following drink every other day: The yolk of 
ten eggs, and one quart of mutton broth, mixed — 
given lukewarm. 

Pleurisy. 

Hitherto we have spoken of inflammation of the 
substance of the lungs; but inflammation may attack 
the membrane covering them and lining the side oi 
the chest, (the pleura), and be principally or entirely 
confined to that membrane. This id termed pleurisy. 
The causes are the same as inflammation of the sub- 
stance of the lungs, and the symptoms are not very 
dissimilar. The guiding distinction will ue the pulse. 
As the blood in this disease still traverse^ the lungs 
withont obstruction, we have not the oppressed pulse, 
but rather the hard, full pulse, characteristic of in- 
flammation; the extremities are cold, but not much 
so;* the membrane of the nose intensely red in the 
former disease, because it is a continuation of the 
inflamed lining of the air cells of the lungs, is here 
but little reddened, because there is no connection 
between them; if the sides are pressed upon in pleur- 
isy, pain will be felt, which the horse will express by 
a kind of grunt, and which is easily explained by the 
pressure being applied so close to the seat of disease. 
The manner of standing, however, will remain the 
same, and the obstinacy of standing the same, and 
the extension of the neck, and protrusion of the nos 
tril. After death, the pleura of the ribs and lungs 
will exhibit stripes or patches of inflammation, and 
and the chest will be ovnerallv filled with serous fluid. 



t fi . ] 

Copious bleeding is indicated here, as in inflamma- 
tion of the substance of the lungs. Blisters and se- 
dative medicines must likewise be restored to. The 
fever powder, No. 73-7-4, and, fever drinks, No. 75, 
Section 188, are highly recommended in pleurisy as 
sedatives, by adding a small quantity of hyosciamus, 
one dram to Caen formula; they form a sufficient se- 
dative. The only important difference is, that aperi- 
ents jnay be administered with more safety than in 
the former disease. Puncturing of the chest to give 
escape to the fluid that is thrown out in it may be 
attempted. It can not do harm, but it has very sel- 
dom saved or much prolonged the life of the animal. 
If the operation be attempted, it should be as soon 
as the presence of the fluid is suspected, and the means 
by which this may be ascertained we have already 
described. The opening should be effected with the 
common trocar us d for tapping in dropsy in the hu- 
man being, and should be made between the eighth 
and ninth ribs, and close to the cartilages. Diuretic 
medicines, combined with tonics, should be admin 
istered. % 

Catarrh, or Common Coltl* 

This is a complaint of frequent occurence, gener- 
ally subdued without much difficulty, but oftenjbe- 
coining of serious consequence, if neglected. It is 
accompanied by a little increase of pulse: a slight 
discharge from the nose and eyes; a coat somewhat 
roughened; a diminution of appetite, and cough 
sometimes painful and frequent. A little warmth, a 
few mashes, and some doses of the medicine recom 
mended under intlammation of the lungs, will speedly 
effect a cure. Should the cough be very painful and 
obstinate, it may be necessary to bleed; but then the 
disease is degenerating into bronchitis or catarrhal 
fever. 

The division of the windpipe just before it enters 
the lungs, and the innumerable vessels into which it 
immcdiatelv afterwards branches out. are called the 



bronchial tubes, and inflammation of the membrane 

that lines them is termed. 

Bronchitis. 

It is catarrh extending to the entrance of the lungs. 
It is characterized 03- quicker and harder breathing 
than catarrh usually presents, and by a peculiar 
wheezing, which is relieved by the coughing up of 
mucous. 

It is to be treated by bleeding, far less copious than 
in inflammation of the lungs, or even in catarrh. 
The horse will bear to lose only a small portion 
of blood when laboring under inflammation of the 
bronchial passages. The chest should be blistered, 
and digitalis given, ami the other treatment similar 
to that for inflamed lungs, with the exception of the 
bleeding. Thick wind is a frequent consequence of 
neglected bronchitis. 

Catarrhal Fever. 

This malady has various names among horsemen, 
as epidemic catarrh, influenza, distemper. By the 
latter name it is generally distinguished in racing 
stables. 

Symptoms. — It usually commences, like intkunma- 
tion of the lungs and fever, with a shivering fit; to 
which rapidly succeed a hot mouth, greater freat of 
the skin than is natural, heaving of the flanks, and 
cough. The eyes are red and heavy, and membrane 
of the nose red, but considerably paler tnari that of 
the lungs, and even occasionally bordering on a livid 
hue. From the very commencement of the disease 
there is some discharge from the nose; at first, of a 
mere watery nature, but soon thickening, and con- 
taining flakes, some of which stick to the membrane 
of the nose, and have been mistaken for ulcere. 

This discharge, at no great distance of time, be- 
comes mattery and offensive. The glands likewise 
of the throat and under jaw become enlarged, and the 
membranes of the nostril and the throat are inflamed 
and tender, and therefore the food is * quidded, 5 ' and 



there is difficulty even in swallowing water, particu- 
larly if it be cold. The horse sips and slavers in the 
pail, and repeatedly coughs as he drinks. The cough 
is sometimes frequent and painful; so much so, that 
the horse repeatedly stamps with his feet, and shows 
signs of impatience and suffering in the act of cough- 
ing. To these symptoms rapidly succeeds rery great 
weakness. The horse staggers, and sometimes almost 
falls as he moves about his box; or he supports him- 
self b} r leaning his sides or quarters against the stall. 
To the inexperienced observer, this early and excess- 
ive weakness will be ver}- alarming, and he will give 
up the horse as lost. The legs generally swell, and 
enlargements appear on the chest and belly. These, 
however, generally are favorable. The pulse is quick- 
ened. It rises to sixty or seventy, but the number 
of its beatings, and the character of the pulse, which 
is seldom very hard, depend much on the degree of 
fever which accompanies the disease. 

After a few days the cough becomes less frequent 
and painful; the glands of the throat diminished; 
the horse begins to eat a little green meat, and is 
more cheerful. In some cases, however, the mem- 
brane of the nose reddens, or streaks of red run 
through the lividness; and the legs become cold, and 
the countenance haggard, and inflammation of the 
lungs is at hand. At other times the breath is of- 
fensive; the discharge from the nose bloody; the 
evacuation loose, and slimy, and bloody; and the an- 
imal is speedily destroyed. The cause of this disease 
is obscure. It may be the consequence of common 
cold; or it will more frequently depend on some un- 
explained influence of the atmosphere. About the 
middle of spring and the commencement of autumn 
it is most frequent. Many horses in the same dis- 
trict, or in almost every part of the country, will be 
attacked by it. If the spring or autumn be wet or 
variable, almost every cold will degenerate into it; 
and there are too many circumstances which lead us 



[63.] 

to conclude that it is infectious. A lot of horses was 
bought at one of the fairs. They were all, but one, 
sent immediately to the residence of the purchaser at 
a considerable distance. The remaining one was 
employed for some purpose, and afterwards sent on 
a journey. He was seized with a distemper, and on 
recovering sufficient to travel, he was taken home. 
Three months had now elapsed since the purchase, 
and the other horses had been perfectly healthy; but 
in less than a fortnight after this horse arrived, they 
all sickened with distemper. 

The treatment of catarrhal fever requires much 
judgment. It is clearly febrile in its commencement; 
but it speedly assumes the character of weakness. 
We will suppose that disease is discovered at its very 
commencement. Bleeding will then be indispensible, 
regulated in quantity by the degree of fever; rarely 
exceeding four quarts, never intentionally pursued 
until the animal is faint, and immediately stopped 
when there is the slightest appearance of faintness. 
The bleeding should be repeated if the pulse is fre- 
quent and strong: or if the membrane of the nose is 
getting red, and the legs cold, and even although 
weakness should be rapidly coming on; but it should 
be in small quantity, and the effect of it carefully 
watched. 

If the disease has been suffered to run on for two 
or three days, and the horse begins to stagger, the 
practitioner or the owner will consider all the symp- 
toms well before he ventures to bleed. Redness of 
the nostrils, heat of the mouth, quickness and force 
of pulse, heaving of the flanks, or coldness of the legs, 
will require the loss of blood, notwithstanding con- 
siderable weakness; but if the animal is quite off his 
feed, and the inside of the nose is livid, and he is 
fast losing condition as well as strength, bleeding will 
be better avoided. 

It is of importance that the bowels should be evac- 
uated; and there is not so much danger in the use 



[64.1 

of a little purgative medicine as in inflammation of 
the lungs. Two drams of Barbadoes aloes may be 
given in the form of a ball, or in solution ; and in 
twelve hours another dram may be given, and even a 
third dose twelve hours after that, if the feces have 
not been loosened; taking care to back-rake the ani- 
mal, aud to administer of injections of thin gruel. 

The sedative medicines at first exhibited should 
be the same as in inflammation of the lungs, and in 
the same quantity; but as soon as the fever begins 
to remit, two drams of the spirit of nitrous ether 
should be added to each dose; and, the weakness in- 
creasing, and the fever still more subsiding, the cam- 
omile may be ventured on, but with caution. Warm 
clothing is necessary, aan particularly about the head; 
and although the box should still be air}% it should 
not be so cool as in inflammation of the lungs. If 
the throat be so sore that the animal will not eat, 
either the parotid or the submaxillary glands, or both, 
should be blistered. It will be far better to blister 
them at once, than lose time by the use of weaker 
and ineffective applications. The discharge from 
the nose should be promoted, and the natural prog- 
ress of the inflammation of the nose aud throat hast- 
ened by hot mashes being frequently put in the 
manger, or if the horse is not too much distressed by 
it, hung under his nostrils in a common nose-bag. 
"When this is resorted to, a hood about the head will 
be particularly necessary. 

A great deal of weakness soon follows an attack of 
catarrhal fever, and it will then be necessary, even 
while we are subduing the fever, to support the 
strength of the animal. He should be offered bran 
mashes, malt mashes, damped hay, green meat, or 
carrots. If he refuses to take them, they should be 
inserted between his grinders, when, being com- 
pelled to bruise them a little in endeavoring to get 
rid of them, and thus experiencing their taste, he 
will often be induced to eat several little portions. 



t 65 . 1 

If he obstinately refuses to feed, he must be drenched-. 
with thick gruel; but this will seldom bp. necessary 
if all water be refused him from the earliest period 
of the disease, and a pail with thinner gruel be sus- 
pended in some part of his stall. When he finds that 
he can get nothing else, he will drink sufficient of 
this to afford him all the nutriment we require. The 
preservation of due warmth in the extremities is as 
necessary here as in inflammation of the lungs, and 
should be attempted by warm bandages, and frequent 
hand-rubbing. 

The terminations of this disease most to be dreaded 
are inflammation of the lungs, and putrid fever. We 
know how to guard against the former, and we shall 
presently speak of the latter. When, however, the 
disease hangs long upon the horse, there is usually 
much mischief done in the chest, although the ani- 
mal may recover. Thick wind, broken wind, and 
chronic cough are its occasional consequences; and 
likewise, as the disease lias affected so great a por- 
tion of the air passages, a peculiar liability to cold 
and cough, and, not frequently, an unpleasant and 
troublesome discharge from the nose will remain. Of 
the latter we have spoken under the title of nasal 
gleet; the others will presently come under consid- 
eration. The farmer will not forget the infectious 
nature of this disease, and will immediately separate 
the sick animal from his companions. 

The disease with which catarrhal fever is most 
b'kely to be confounded is inflammation of the lungs; 
and as the treatment of the two is in some particu- 
lars so different, the farmer should be enabled read- 
ily to distinguish between them. If a little care be 
used this will not be difficult. The febrile character 
of the pulse, the early discharge from the nose, the 
frequent and painful cough, the enlargement of the 
glands, and the soreness of the throat; the rapid loss 
of strength, the sometimes constant, and at other 
times variable warmth of the legs; the fidgettiness 



and pawing, will sufficiently distinguish catarrhal 
fever from the oppressed pulse, red nostril, heaving 
flank, little cough, fixedness of limbs, and coldness of 
the extremities which accompany and characteize in- 
flammation of the lungs. 

The Malignant Epidemic. 

This commences with nearly the same symptoms 
as catarrhal fever; it probably at the beginning is 
catarrhal fever, but more than usually violent, and 
sooner exhausting the powers of the frame. 

Its symptoms are rapid loss of strength, stinking 
breath, foetid discharge from the nostrils, all the 
evacuations becoming highly offensive, the pulse rapid, 
small and weak, and the animal obstinately refusing 
to eat. It soon runs its course. Gangrene soon suc- 
ceeds to inflammation, and rapidly spreads from the 
part first inflamed through the whole of the cellular 
substance, and every portion of the frame. When 
veterinary science was in its infancy, this pest used 
periodically to appear, and carry off hundreds of 
horses, and that breeder is fortunate who does not 
now sometimes suffer from its ravages. The treat- 
ment of it is very unsatisfactory. The prevention 
may be a little more in our power, by endeavoring to 
get rid of the previous disease by one bleeding, when, 
in some seasons, catarrhal fever appears under a form 
more than usually violent; and by bleeding with ex- 
treme caution, or not bleeding at all, when debility 
begins to appear. A mild purgative may be first 
administered to carry off a portion of the offensive 
matter contained in the bowels; after which, chalk, 
and ginger, and opium, and gentian, and Colombo, 
with port wine, may be plentifully given, with green 
meat, or thick gruel; but except the horse be valua- 
ble, the chance of saving him is so light, and prob- 
ably the danger of spreading the pest so great that 
prudence will prompt his destruction. Most frequent 
in occurence among the consequences of catarrhal fe- 
ver, and inflammation of the lungs, is chronic cough. 



THE WILD COLT. 



The first requisite in the management of the wild 
colt is to have a good room or training yard of about 
twenty-five by thirty or forty feet. See that possible 
causes of injury are removed, get the colt into this 
room or inclosure as quietly as possible; if very wild, 
see that hens, chickens, etc., are driven out. Say to 
your friends, it is necessary to your success and a 
condition of your instructions to be alone. 

Your first object is to halter the colt. If not very 
wild, you can easily work up to the shoulders and 
head, and by scratching the mane, etc., slip the halter 
on the head. But if the colt is wild, this may be dif- 
ficult, if not dangerous, and one of the most import- 
ant requisites is to guard against injury either to 
yourself or horse, and at tae same time aceomplish 
your end most easily and surely. The best way to 
do this, is to proceed as follows: 

Take an edging or pole about ten or twelve feet 
long, more or less, as you may happen to find, or 
danger may require. Whittle up a few strong chips 
with your knife, about an inch or two from the end, 
towards the center, and about seven or eight inches 
from this, whittle up a few more chips from the oppo- 
site direction, or you can drive a couple of nails into 
the stick about the same distance apart, the heads 
bent a little outward from each other. Take a com- 
mon rope halter with a running noose, pull the part 
that slips through the noose back about two feet. 
Now hang the part thai goes over the head upon the 
chips or nails at the end of your pole nicely, with the 
hitching part held in your hands with the stick. 
Your halter is now so spread and hung upon the stick, 



: 6 8. j 

as to be easily put upon the head. If the eolt is not 
greatly excited, he is easily attracted to the notice of 
whatever is new to him. He has no way of examin- 
ing objects but by his nose, and so he is prompted to 
smell and feel of things that are new and strange to 
him. Consequently you will find upon reaching out 
the halter gently, hung as above upon the end of your 
pole, he will reach out to smell and feel of it, and 
while he is gratifying his curiosity in this way, you 
can easily raise the stick high enough to bring the 
halter over and back of the ears, when by turning the 
stick half way round, the halter will drop from it 
upon the head. This may frighten the colt a little 
and cause him to run from you, but by doing so, the 
slack of the part passing back of the jaw through the 
noose, will be pulled up and the halter is on the head 
securely. 

Having your colt haltered, your object next is to 
teach him to submit to its restraint. Take a position 
about on a line with the shoulders, but at some dis- 
tanee, and give him a sharp, quick pull towards you, 
but instantiy slacking upon the halter. You have 
the greatest advantage from this position, and by 
adroitly following up this advantage, not attempting 
to pull upon the eolt when he attempts to run back 
or from you, he will soon, by a few sharp pulls in this 
way, learn to feel and submit to the force of your 
power. Should you pull slow and steady, he would 
learn to pull bank upon you, and might throw him- 
self down. This you will avoid b} T letting loose the 
instant after you pull. When there is a disposition 
to yield to you, get on the opposite side and repeat 
pulling in the same manner, gradually alternating 
from side to side, until the colt will come around 
promptly. 

You are to carefully avoid pulling ahead, until 
there is a prompt submission to the restraint side- 
ways. You can then gradually pull a little more on 
a line with the body, until the colt will follow readily 



[69. \ 

Ifthecolt isof a quick, prompt character ho will soon 
learn to submit to the restraint of the halter; but if 
very young or of a slow, sulky disposition, unaccus- 
tomed to being handled, the most reckless resistance 
is likely to be evinced. These fellows will sometimes 
strike, kick, and plunge with remarkable energy 
when pulled upon. When this character is shown, it 
is necessary, not only to be patient, but careful. If 
the colt becomes excited and reckless, let him stand 
until cool, then continue the lesson slowly until suc- 
cessful, Now put the hand lightly upon the nose and 
gradually work it up the head, and back upon the 
withers. It is possible the colt will strike with the 
fore feet upon being touched upon the nose, or he 
may stand apparently indifferent until the hand is 
brought up to the ears. Colts that fight in this wa^y 
are exceedingly dangerous, and it is policy not to be 
hurried or rash. So far as the hand will be borne 
on the head, } r ou can gradually work farther, but at 
the least cringing, or appearance of resistance, hold 
and work back to the nose or insensible part, then 
up again to the point of resistance or beyond. In 
this way you can work a little farther at each repeti- 
tion, until there is no resistance to being handled 
about the head. 

Now tie a knot through the noose, so that it can 
not slip, to prevent drawing tightly upon the nose 
when pulled upon, leaving the nose piece large enough 
to be quite loose. If the colt does not work up very 
well to the halter after a reasonable effort, take a short 
hold of the halter with the left hand, with the right 
grab the tail and swing him sharply for a few times, 
then repeat the pulling sideways upon the halter. 
If the colt proves decidedly sulky and you wish more 
power, you can either tie up one fore foot, which will 
greatly lessen his resistance, or put on the war bridle 
which will increase your power, and continue your 
short, quick side pulls as before. The objection to 
the war bridle in educating the colt to lead, is that it 



affords an advantage of too much severity to be 
hazarded without the advantage of care and judg- 
ment. 

It is often advisable and even necessary, when the 
colt acts sulky and excitable in breaking to lead to 
the halter, to make it the object of two or three les- 
sons; at all events the lessons must be repeated to 
the end of perfect success. 

In halter b eaking, it is important that the colt 
should be taught to submit to be hitched. All re- 
straints upon the head, especially by a - hard rope, 
causes pain which perhaps frightens and stimulates 
to greater resistance, and as in the efforts of teaching 
submission to its restraint to lead, the efforts of re- 
sistance must be prevented until a sense of submis- 
sion is enforced. 

Hitching the Colt in Stall. 

Two principles are involved in controlling and 
teaching the horse to submit to the restraint of the 
halter while hitched. 

The first, Jty teaching a sense of restraint upon the 
head, until there is tacit obedience to the control of 
the halter. Second, by disconcerting and disabling 
at the moment of resistance. The first to be recom- 
mended in the management of the colt. This is best 
accomplished as follows: 

Prepare your stall, which should be about four or 
five feet wide, by attaching a rope so as to bring it 
across and fasten firmly, so as to strike the hind parts 
a little below where the breechen comes, or you can 
bore holes through, or drive staples into the posts, 
and fit a pole so as to put through in the same posi- 
tion. Now lead the colt into the stall, and if conven- 
ient, have an assistant tie this rope or pole, previously 
fitted to come across the stall behind. If alone, run 
the halter through the ring or hole in the manger, 
and while holding the end in the left hand, step back 
cautiously and tie your rope across the stall behind. 



r i . j 

Now tie the halter long enough, so that as the colt 
attempts to go baek, he will strike the rope or pole 
across behind him, before lie can feel the restraint of 
the halter. 

You should in this, as in everything else 3-011 at- 
tempt to teach your colt, be gentle. Get the colt into 
the stall as quietly as possible, and after tying, which 
should be after the rope or pole is put up behind, get 
out as easily and quietly as you can. Would always 
unite the halter before taking down the rope or pole 
across behind, when wishing to remove the colt from 
the stall. This prudence should be observed so long 
as the colt is likely to resist or become frightened at 
the plain, possible restraint of the halter would 
render. 

If a thorough sense of submission to the control of 
the halter is taught in breaking to lead, and the colt 
is of a prompt, nervous character, it ma} r be scarcely 
necessary to resort to the prudence of putting any- 
thing across behind the colt when first hitched in the 
stall. But if a wilful, sulky character, and has not 
been handled mueh, the prudence of putting a pole 
or rope across the stall behind while hitched, is nec- 
essary for at least a week or more. 

Teaching the colt to submit to the restraint of the 
bit is next of importance. * 

Bitting: 

Implies teaching the horse to submit the mouth to 
the restraint of the bit, and at the same time give the 
head and neck as great an elevation as the form and 
temper will bear. Whenever the reins are pulled 
upon, if this is imperfectly done, the horse may ac- 
quire habits of resistance to the control of the reins, 
as exhibited by pulling too hard on the bit, pulling 
on one rein, will not baek, etc. 

To accomplish this end most easily and perfectly, 
implies a restraint that would be both flexible and 
positive. If the bitting is inclined to the restraint 



of a chock, there being only simple dead pressure 
upon the mouth, if checked up at first tightly and 
too long, the horse may learn the habit of resting the 
head upon the bit to relieve the weariness of the re- 
straint, which would possibly teach the horse to work 
into some one of the common habits of resitance to 
the control of the bit. But as such resistance is easily 
overcome by the use of the war bridle, (a description 
of which find in a future page), there is but little dif- 
ficuty with ordinary care and effort to educate the 
mouth to submit the head fully and freely to the con- 
trol of the reins. 

To Get the Colt Accustomed to the Bit. 

Put on the colt a common headstall with a joint bit 
without reins. Allow him to run about in the yard, 
or stand in the stall twenty or thirty minutes before 
taking it off. Then after a while put it on longer, 
and so repeat until the colt becomes accustomed to 
the bit. 

Bitting Bridie* 

The colt may now be subjected to the restraint of 
a bitting bridle. Any good bitting bridle will answer. 
The object is to bring restraint upon the bit that will 
hold the head up and back most easily and naturally 
without freedom in any direction but in the direction 
of the reins, 

It seems needless to explain the details of making 
a bitting bridle. There is necessity of its being made 
to fit well, the gag runners to be well up near the ears, 
and that the throat latch is not buckled so short as 
to possibly choke, or press the least upon the thro it 
when the head is thrown up. 

When the bitting bridle is first put on, the reins 
should be buckled so as to bring the restraint upon 
the head a little short of entire freedom when the 
head is held naturally. After being on fifteen or 
twenty minutes, it should be removed. After an in- 



terval of an hour or two, it can be put on again, and 
the reins buckled a little shorter, and left on a few 
minutes longer; then again taking it off, and as con- 
venience may dictate put it on again, a teach repeti- 
tion making the reins a little shorter, until the colt 
becomes accustomed to and able to bear the head to 
be checked up to the extreme of his capacity. 

If checked up tightly and tied short at first, the 
colt is liable in his struggles for freedom to rear up 
and fall over upon his head. If kept checked up too 
long, the restraint becomes tiresome, and the colt may 
learn to relieve the weariness so caused by resting 
the head upon the bit, which would in most cases 
teach the habit of lugging and pulling down upon the 
bit, when pulled upon by the reins. If, however, the 
colt should act sulky and mad at the restraint of the 
check, leave it on until the fit is exhausted, and there 
is a disposition to submit. 

The lessons should be short until the mouth be- 
comes hardened and accustomed to the bit, conse- 
quently the shorter and more frequent the lessons 
are repeated during the first three or four days the 
better. 

Very great difficulty is often experienced in both 
teaching good submission of the mouth and bringing 
the head up. When subjected to the restraint of the 
bit by this svstem of checking, on account of the 
imperfect manner, it is possible to teach prompt 
obedience of the mouth to the restraint of the reins 
by this system of dead pressure only, should the colt 
resist the bit and act sulky, put on the colt's bridle, 
(large loop, described in another page), and work up 
the mouth three or four minutes, and repeat the les- 
son until the head is thrown up promptly, and the 
mouth given back freely to a very slight restraint 
upon the bit. 

The best form of check is made by passing the 
ends of the ordinary check rein through the rings of 
the bit, and attach to the check pieces a little above 



the eyes. This form of check brings the restraint 
directly up and back upon !me mouth, ami accomp- 
lishes the object more directly of bringing tiie head 
up, than can be done }>3 r any other form of check 
in use. / 

Harnessing tiie Colt. 

Put the harness on the colt carefully, and allow 
him to stand in the stall, or run about the yard for a 
half or three-quarters of an hour. Then remove it, 
and after awhile replace it again, repeating two or 
three times in this way, until the colt is thoroughly 
reconciled to harness. Then tie the tugs into the 
breechen, so as to be drawn moderately tight. Now 
put on reins and gradually teach him to go ahead 
and be controlled to the right or left, or to stop as 
you please, by the restraint of the bit. Too much 
should not be expected of the colt, at the commence- 
ment of this lesson. First, gradually urim him ahead 
by touching the whip lightly over his hips, and as he 
moves turn him to the right and left, until he will 
move promptly and turn in any direction freely to the 
control of the reins. Would then teach him to stop 
and start at will, by urging him ahead by a touch of 
the whip, and stopping him by pulling on the reins, 
being careful to say "get up," and "whoa," as each 
requirement of going ahead or stopping is made, until 
the colt learns to submit implicity to the control of 
the reins, and is quite handy to drive in this way. 
This may require several lessons of half or three- 
quarters of an hour each. 

Hitching the Colt to Wagon. 

If it is intended to drive the colt single, would, if 
convenient, prefer a sulky at first. Before hitching 
into the shafts, he should be led up to the wagon or 
sulky, and permitted to feel and smell of it as he 
pleased. Then rattle and shake the shafts, at the 
same time moving the colt around so that he can see 
and hear the obiect from different sides. Should the 



COit show fear of the wagon and resist control, put on 
the war bridle and work him up with it sharply, 
until perfectly manageable and reconciled to it, Then, 
regardless of the noise and rattle of the wagon or 
•shafts, while between the shafts attach to the wagon 
quietly, and for additional safety, put on a foot strap, 
(a description of which find on another page), and 
hold as a third rein while driving, Would let the 
colt move off almost as he pleases* on a straight line. 
Then gradually, as he will bear, teach, him to go to 
the right and left, to the control of the reins. Great 
care should be taken not to drive the eolt too much 
at first, and at no time to the extreme of exhaustion. 
Neither should the strength of the colt be taxed 
much at first by driving up and down hill. Let him 
move on a level road until accustomed to the noise 
and restraint of the wagon. No attempt should be 
made to back the colt, until gentle and manageable 
to go ahead and sideways. It must be remembered 
that the colt can not become handy and able to stand 
the fatigue of much driving without time and patience. 
Let his drives be moderate, both in gait and distance 
at first. About a mile or two on a walk at first, grad- 
ually increasing the distance to as much as he will 
bear without fatigue, After learning to go nicely on 
a walk, let him trot a little, gradually letting him out 
faster and a little longer, as nice smooth pieces of 
road give opportunity, but would be very particular 
to confine these little bursts of speed at first to the 
limits of a fvw rods, and never to the extent of ex- 
haustion. Let him dash out a short distance, t 1 
gradually pull to a walk, and speak eneoir 
just as if talking to a boy. After awhi 1 
again, perhaps pushing a trifle fas'" 
not to the extreme of breaking 

means expect that }~ou h - igiqgfo 

haps, your colt is a - , cf -« jet kim. oik 

good stepper, it o ov er . jVf l °^er, JJ, 

rfenee. T ^ Z lVe * tetter? Uot fr ail 



[1 fl . 1 

such a colt's speed and bottom. He is pushed, over- 
done and spoiled, perhaps before he knows how to 
trot, or is grown to his full strength. 

It is generally the custom to drive the colt at first 
in harness by the side of a gentle horse accustomed 
to harness. When this is designed, the colt should 
put on the off side, and to guard against danger, a 
short strap with a ring on it, should be put around the 
near fore-foot below the fetlock. Fasten the end of a 
piece of rope or strap of about eight or ten feet long- 
to the ring. Pass the other end over the belly-band 
of the harness to the wagon. The fetrap is to 
be held with the reins to ensure the utmost, control, 
should the colt become frightened and attempt to 
break away or kick, The whip should be held over 
the old horse to keep him up to the movements of 
the colt in starting, hut the gait should be kept mod- 
erate, 

In braking the colt to drive double, after driving 
well on the off side, he should be reversed to the near 
side $ there being less danger of becoming frightened 
from getting into, or out of the wagon, or of seeing 
things while being passed to or from the wagon on 
account of being more from view on the off side. To 
lesson the probabilities of fear and resistance as 
much as possible, the off side is preferable at first. 
The limited understanding of the horse, seems to re- 
quire that the same impressions and understanding 
should be given of the character and appearance of 
things forced to his attention on both sides. If not, 
when driven alone, or on the near side, he may become 
suddenly frightened by the moving of a robe, um- 
brella, the rustling of a lady's dress, etc., from that 
side, See artieles on " Causes of Fear." 

Teaching tlio Colt to Back* 

When the colt drives well to the reins, he should 



t'l 7 . ] 

be taught to back. This is most easily done with 
the war or bitting bridle. Should he act stubborn 
after using the war bridle a few moments, reverse by 
putting the large loop over the neck, which will touch 
him more sharply. If, however, he should become 
warm, after a reasonable effort, or a lesson of Ave or 
ten minutes, stop and repeat the lesson at any time 
after becoming cool and quiet, when with rare excep- 
tions the colt will soon learn to go back promptly. 
You can now, if the colt is not warm or excited, put 
on reins and teach him to go back by being pulled 
upon from behind. This lesson of backing to the 
reins should be repeated until the colt -is promptly 
obedient. He may now be backed to wagon, but first 
on a slightly descending grade, gradually requiring 
more, and repeating the lesson until prompt to back 
under any circumstances. 

To Slide the Colt. 



If the colt is not an extremely surly fellow, there 
is but little difficulty in teaching him to submit to be 
rode. Put on a bridle and tie the reins short over 
the neck; you may now, after caressing a little over 
the back, throw yourself lightly upon his back, and 
gradually work into an upright position. But if 
there is probability of much resistance, attach the 
end of a strap or web to the off fore foot below the 
fetlock. Take a short hold of this over the back; 
move the colt to the left, and when the foot is raised 
to step, hold it up. This may be done a few times, 
until the foot is submitted. Then while holding the 
foot up by the strap with the right hand, rest the left 
on the mane, over the withers, and throw yourself 
lightly across his back and work gently into an up- 
right position. Then, as may be necessary, move the 
colt, taking and giving the foot until there is perfect 
submission. 



To Handle jlte Coifs Feet. 

It is natural for the colt to resist being handled 
about the feet. The feet are his natural means of 
defense, and any impudence or excitement may induce 
resistance, 

Tie the end of your short strap gently around the 
hind leg above the fetlock, then, while holding the 
halter in the left hand, with the right, pull up this 
strap, which will bring the foot forward. As the foot 
is submitted in this way, pull it in other directions 
until submitted freely to the restraint of the strap. 
Then take the foot in the hands, put it down, take 
up, rub and handle it as may he necessary, until it is 
freely submitted in any manner. If, however, the 
colt is determined in resistance, the restraint must be 
made more positive, 

Tie the end of your long strap around the neck, 
near the shoulders, pass the other end back between 
the fore legs, around the hind foot, but under the 
strap around the neck, and draw upon it, at the same 
time holding him by the bridle or halter. The colt 
may be frightened and jump to get clear of the re- 
straint. Should he act very much frightened, slack 
upon the strap until the foot is almost back to its 
natural position ; then, as he will bear, again pull a 
little shorter, at the same time pulling him around 
in a circle by the head, until he ceases struggling to 
get the foot 'uiose. You may now pull the foot farther 
forward, and hold it as before, until the colt will stand 
quietly, Now step back a little and pass the hand 
down fche hind leg. Slap the hand upon the leg a 
little until there is no resistance, then take it in 
the hands If there is no resistance, undo the end of 
the strap, and allow the foot a little more freedom; 
at the same time, while holding the foot by the strap, 
pass I he ol her hand from the hip down the leg quietly, 
rubbing and carressing until able to take in the hands. 
Now. let it down gently, at the same time rub the 
foot q little Then, while standing in front of the 



leg, put the left hand upon the hip, while you pass 
the other down the leg to the fetlock. At that in- 
stant press against the hip with the left hand, while 
you pull gently with the right upon the foot. Press- 
ing upon the hip throws the weight of the hind parts 
upon the opposite leg, which relaxes the muscles of 
the one nearest, and allows it to be taken up freely. 

The other foot must be eontroled and taken up in 
the same manner. Care should be taken when it is 
desired to take up the foot, that the hand is started 
from some part of the back or hip, and then as it is 
being passed down to the foot, place the other hand 
against the shoulder or hip of the foot, and, as before 
explained, at the instant of pulling upon the foot to 
take it up, press from you with the other hand. To 
forcibly take up the fore feet, pass your short strap 
over the back and attach it to the foot below the fet- 
lock. Then with the left hand pull the head around 
to you, when, as the horse steps, with the right pull 
on the strap, and the foot can be taken up easily. 
Tamper the colt around in this position until he 
ceases in his struggles to free the foot, then take the 
foot in the hand. After rubbing it a little, put it 
down gently, then take it up again, and so continue 
until no resistance is offered. 

This lesson should be repeated several times, or 
until the colt is made thoroughly gentle to have the 
feet taken up and handled. 

War Bridle. 

This is simply a fine threaded cotton cord of the 
best material, twisted hard, of about three eights of 
an inch in diameter, and twelve or fourteen feet long. 
Tie each end into a hard knot, just as you would to 
prevent its raveling, with the difference of putting 
the end through the tie twice. Then pull down tight 
and hard close to the end. Now tie another knot 
about twelve inches from the end, but before drawing 
it tight, put the end through. This will make a loop 



that will not slip or draw through. The great sim 
plicity of this form of knot, with the ease with which 
it can be united, gives it preference to me over all 
other forms of knot I have e^er used, and is, in my 
judgment, the best form of knot, all things considered, 
to be recommended for general use. The peculiar 
power this means of control enables upon the 
mouth, is liable to cause accident, when used upon a 
quick; sensitive horse or green colt, with too much 
energy in such a manner as to bring the restraint di- 
rectly back upon the mouth, which would in many 
cases, cause the horse to rear up and possibly fall 
over backwards upon the head. The objection to this 
form of knots is, that it forms so sharp an angle at 
the point of junction as to catch and prevent the cord 
from sliding back loose the instant slacked upon, 
which would increase the danger of a horse going 
over upon his head when jerked upon in a rough, im- 
prudent manner. Of course a horse is liable to get 
killed by such an accident, and it must and should 
be guarded against. But the difficulty of making 
and untying knots that would afford more freedom 
for the part passing through, makes them objection- 
able. The principal danger is, however, from violent 
erking too much on a line with the body backwards. 
This loop should be just large enough to go over the 
lower jaw, back of the bridle teeth of the horse it is 
intended to be used upon. 

The other end can now be formed into another 
loop in the same manner, with the difference of being 
large enough to go over the head and lit tightly around 
the neck, near the shoulders. 



Applying the War Bridle* 

There are two ways of applying and using the war 
bridle : 

First method: While standing forward of the 
shoulders on the near side of the horse, throw the 
small loop over the neck, and take in the left hand 



s i .; 

Then, with the right, put the large loop through from 

the top side. Now pass the left hand forward to the 
mouth, adroitly spreading the loop in the same posi- 
tion over the thumb, second, third and fourth fingers, 
at the same time the right hand is to he passed un- 
der the neck, around the head, upon the nose, which 
is to be grasped gently but firmly, while the loop is 
put over the jaw back of the bridle teeth with the left. 

Second method: Take the large loop between both 
hands, and while standing directly in front of the 
horse, slide it over his head, well back upon the neck, 
about where the collar rests. The loop should be 
made in size to fit tightly around this part of the 
neck. Now put the other end down between the 
loop and neck. Put the loop this forms into his 
mouth back of the bridle teeth, then draw down upon 
the end until the slack is taken up. The small loop 
form we denominate the old horse's bridle. The large 
loop, the colt's or bitting bridle. It is noticed that 
the action of each form is exactly the reverse of the 
other. When great power and control of the mouth 
is required, the small loop is to be used. When to 
give style and make the mouth sensitive to the bit, 
the large loop. The peculiar value of the war bridle, 
depends very much upon the skill and tact employed 
in its use. 

Like the whip, it may, and often must be employed 
with energy, but with discretion, but always propor- 
tioned to what it is seen the horse will safely bear. 

Frequent allusion will be made to the use of this 
means of control for different purposes. The advant- 
ages it enables over the mouth, though in itself 
simple, is susceptible of being made directly, or in- 
directly, not only an instrument of great power in 
many ways, but of making a great variety of impres- 
sions, both in changing and forming habits. There 
seems to be an intimate connection between the 
mouth and the brain. Hence a manageable mouth 



implies a manageable horse. It' the mouth is un- 
manageable, the horse is headstrong, wilful and vi- 
cious. Again, one of the great points of success in 
the successful management of horses, is the ability 
of attracting the. mind from the channel of inten- 
tional resistance. 

Now, thorough control of the mouth, enables these 
advantages in establishing a sense of submission be- 
yond what can be taught in any other way, to the 
control of the bit. When used skillfully for such 
purposes as it is adapted, it is an instrument of great 
power and value in educating and controlling the 
horse into habits of sumbission. The effects we are 
now able to produce upon the mouth in a few min- 
ute's time by the use of this simple instrument, are 
often so great as to seem wonderful and beyond be- 
lief, if not seen. 

Foot Strap. 

Any piece of strap or rope of about twelve or four- 
teen feet in length, simply tied around the fore foot 
in most any manner, will answer in an emergency. 
Hut as simply tying or knotting around the foot is 
objectionable on account of the danger of chafing 
and preventing circulation, or possibly untying at 
some critically moment, when necessary to use a foot 
strap much, it should be especially adapted for the 
purpose, by making as follows: Have a nice smooth 
strap made, about twelve inches long and an inch 
wide, with a buckle on one end and buckle holes 
punched in the other. About one inch from the 
buckle should b< Itted under the lap passing around 
the buckle, a ring or 1) stitched in nicely. The edges 
of this strap should be dressed down nice and 
smooth, or much better, cover the part coming in 
contact with the foot, with a piece of soft leather. 
This sirMi) is intended to buckle around the foot be- 
low the fetlock. Into the rinsj fasten the end of a 



strap or web, fourteen feet long and an inch and a 
half wide. 

How to Use the Foot Strap. 

Buckle the short strap around the near fore foot 
below the fetlock, then pass the long strap over the 
hell}' band on the near side, back to the wagon, and 
hold as a rein. This gives control of the foot at 
will, which so disconcerts and disables the h:>rse as to 
make him comparatively helpless. If there is an ef- 
fort to run away, run back, or kick, simply pulling 
upon the strap, throws the horse off his balance, and 
disables him from his purpose. This, it is seen, can 
be repeated and followed up at will, as may be nec- 
essary. 

On the instant the foot is taken up, the horse 
is thrown off his balance, and to keep him from fall 
ing he has to throw the other foot forward. There 
is really no danger of the horse falling, and you hold 
him at a disadvantage that renders successful resist 
ance almost impossible. Now if you strap up one of 
the fore legs, the horse cannot travel* and if disposed 
to kick, can balance on the other leg and kick, which 
he cannot do when held and disconcerted at will in 
this way. We are unable to carry out the principle 
of disabling practically, by simply straping the leg 
up. The moment tin' strap is off, protection against 
resistance is removed, and yourresourse of control is 
limited to that of prudence and good management, 
while with the foot strap tin* horse is really free to 
travel, but completely in your control, should emer- 
gency require it. You control and disconcert the 
horse in the very act of resistance, ami make your 
control available so far as it is possible b> do, by dis- 
abling one foot. The short foot strap is simply a 
piece of web ten feet long. 



CAUSES OF FEAR. 



To the excitement and Impulses of resistance in- 
duced by tear, may be attributed, directly or indi- 
rectly nearly all the bad habits to which horses are 
subject. Hence it is of the greatest importance in 
educating the young horse to guard against any cause 
of excitement that would rouse the mind to an ex- 
treme sense of danger. Repeated and continued suc- 
cess teaches confidence, while failure weakens and 
destroys strength of purpose. 

The limited understanding of the horse induces 
great extreme of this peculiarity. Hence very sus- 
ceptible to the influence of good or bad treatment, 
and almost wholly in character, in accordance to the 
influences made subject. 

Were we to play upon a drum quickie or unex 
pectedly near a horse unaccustomed to the sound or 
appearance of a drum, it would in almost every in- 
stance induce the most terrible fear, and if success- 
ful in getting away, he would be ever afterwards 
frightened at the sound or appearence of a drum or 
anything of the kind; the rattle of the wagon, or fly- 
ing of the blanket from his back, he would perhaps, 
in his terror, regard with equal alarm, and associat- 
ing those things with the first cause of fear, they may 
become objects of equal repugnance and resistance. 
Now kicking is the horse's principal means of de- 
fense. The excitement and fear prompts this act. 
This brings his heels in contact with the whiffletrees 
or cross-piece, which adds to his excitement and fixes 
the impression that the object from which he is run- 
ning, has hit him. The struggle to escape the danger 



18 5. . 

is redoubled both by running and kicking, and thus 
the horse becomes not only nervous, but a kicker, 
possibly learns to resist the control of the bit and be- 
comes a headstrong, reckless, dangerous animal. But 
if the drum were brought to the notice of the horse 
slowly and gently, allowing him to feel of it with his 
nose, then touch it lightly with your linger, gradually 
striking harder as he would bear, it would be but a 
short time before the horse will bear the drum being- 
played upon in any manner, even though it were 
resting upon his back, and he would care nothing 
about it, and be less likely to become frightened at 
the sound or appearance of a drum afterwards, but of 
other objects or sounds of like character. 

We see that when the horse is not given time to 
get a correct understanding of the harmless charac- 
ter of the object, or cause of excitement, his sensibil- 
ities are liable to be stirred to an anticipation of real 
danger, and excite resistance, while gentle, careful 
management, is a repetition of convincing proofs of 
the innocent character of causes exciting suspicion, 
until the horse becomes so fearless and confident, as 
to care nothing about ordinary causes of excitement 
and restraint. Now the great difficulty with most 
people is, they are too harsh and precipitate. They 
undertake to do, and require more than they have 
power to enforce, or than the horse is able to under- 
stand. 

In educating the eolt, the rule should be to do and 
require only so much as lie will bear and understand, 
by commencing slowly, and gently repeating and fol- 
lowing up one advantage after another, to the end of 
inspiring entire disregard of cause of excitement. 
The horse's principal sense of understanding, is by 
seeing and feeling with the nose. This is his means 
of examining things new and strange to him. If in 
approaching the colt, you were to reach out your hand 
gently, he would smell and feel of it with his nose. 



Every other means of understanding seems lo be 
subordinate to this, consequently in handling the eolt 
we should always commence at the nose, then gradu- 
ally work back as there is submission. The same 
care should be taken to overcome fear of being handled 
about the feet, etc. Commence at an insensible part 
and work -to the sensible. In educating to harness, 
the same prudence should be exercised by bringing 
the object to the nose, or leading the horse up to 
the object and allowing him to feel and examine it in 
his own way. 

We must be satisfied with our ability to guard 
against and overcome these difficulties of fear as we 
can, or as circumstances and opportunity will oiler. 
The great point of success is in guarding the horse 
from being roused to a great sense of danger from 
any cause, and gradually as he will bear, force the 
mind to an understanding of the innocent character 
of the object, or cause of excitement. Familiarity 
with any kind of danger blunts the sensibilities, and 
the object is to produce this result most easily and 
directly. I regard this care and prudence so essen- 
tial and important in attaining real success in render- 
ing horses gentle and manageable, that at the risk of 
being tedious in my explanations, I subjoin details of 
management in reconciling horses to the most com- 
mon causes of fear. 

To Reconcile the Colt to a Kobe. 

First, while held under careful restraint, let the 
robe be brought up gently to the colt's nose. After 
smelling and feeling of it in his own way until satis- 
fied, rub it gently against the head, neck and body 
the way the hair lies, as he will bear. Then stand 
oil' a little and throw it across the back, over the neck 
and head, gradually stepping farther, until you can 
throw the robe upon and around him as you please, 
though quite distant. 



To Overcome Fear of an Embrclia or Parasol. 

While holding the colt by the halter or war bridle 
as maybe neoessay, bring the umbrella up to his nose 
gently, rub it against the head, neck and bo$y, and 
as he will bear, then spreading it a little, repeating 

the process of rubbing, and so continue gaining little 
by little until you can raise the umbrella over the 
head and pass it around the animal as you please, 
without exciting resistance. 

To Reconcile to the Sound of a, Gun. 

First, commence by snapping caps a short distance 
from the horse, gradually as he will bear, approach- 
ing nearer until you can snap caps while the gun is 
resting on the back, over the head, etc. Then put in 
a little powder, and at each repetition increase the 
charge until you can fire oil' a heavy load without 
exciting fear. 

To Prevent Fear of Railroad Cars. 

Let the animal see them at rest, then gradually 
lead or drhe him up to them, even smelling them 
with his nose. Now as you have an opportunity, 
drive the horse around while they are moving, work- 
ing up nearer as you can, at the same time turning 
him around so that he can hear and see them from 
different directions. This lesson should be often re- 
peated, being careful not to crowd beyond what the 
colt will easily bear, until they cease to attract his 
serious attention. 

Objects Exciting- Fear While Riding or Driving. 

Should the horse show fear of a stone or a stump, or 
anything of the kind, he will naturally stop instantly 
and stare at the object in the most excited manner. 
Should the cause of fear be great and sudden, he may 
attempt to turn around and run away. This is to 
be guarded against, by sitting well forward on the 



seat, and taking a short hold of the reins, at the same 
time speaking calmly and encouragingly to the horse. 
Bear in mind, that the horse has a great advantage 
over you that his excitement is liable to precipitate 
his whole strength against you at the least sense 
of freedom, or additional cause of excitement; that 
once resisting in this position, he will try to do so 
again at all hazards, under like circumstances. 

Speak encouragingly to the horse, but keep a close 
watch upon his actions. In a short time the tension 
of his alarm will not only be perceptibly relieved, but 
he will become calmer, and almost disregarding the 
object. Then drive nearer as he will bear, exercising 
the same patience and care. At each effort to get 
nearer the horse will become apparently as much 
frightened as at first. But keep pushing a little at a 
time this way as the horse will bear, until you can 
drive up to the object or by it, and you not only leave 
no bad impressions upon the mind, but gradually 
overcome the disposition to be frightened. 

Sometimes a horse will dislike a wheel-barrow, 
baby wagon, turkeys, etc., but the treatment is the 
same. When the excitement is not so great as to en- 
danger successful resistance, and the horse is dispos- 
ed "to play off, or soldier " it may be advisable to ap- 
ply the whip a little sharply, but this is to be avoid- 
ed, when it is seen the resistance is wholly induced 
by fear, and the animal is not lazy. 

Some horses while driven to carriage, will not bear 
the noise and excitement of other horses being driv- 
en up behind. This is principally on account of the 
horse's inability to see and understand the cause of 
the excitement, or it may be owing to the fault of the 
driver. Some one drives up rapidly behind, perhaps 
wishes to "go by," to prevent which, the colt is hal- 
looed at and whipped up, to prevent such a result. 
This may be repeated a few times and thercsultis, if a 
spirited horse, the habitis acquired of rushing ahead 



to avoid the punishment expected under such cir- 
cumstances, and* very often, too, a horse is forced in- 
to this habit by being run into from behind. 

The Blinders Prevent Seeing 1 Plainly. 

It must be remembered that the bliners in general 
use so cover up the eyes as to make it impossible to 
see things plainly sideways, and wholly so from be- 
hind, must tend to this result; and certainly we are 
convinced of this, when we see that to overcome the 
animal's fear of any object, the first and most obvious 
point is to induce an understanding of its appearance 
and character. Blinders are admissable only when 
there is a desire to conceal the effects of a large head 
and to cause a naturally lazy horse to drive steadily, 
by preventing his ability to see when the whip is 
about to be applied. 

Tine Horse Must See tne Object off Fear ffrom Dif- 
ferent Positions. 

Tt is one of the peculiarities of the horse to under 
stand and be reconciled to an object, or cause of ex- 
citement only from the position and circumstances 
brought to his notice. This seems to be on account 
of the horse's reasoning powers being so limited, as 
to be unable to retain the same understanding of the 
object beyond the position from which it is brought 
to notice. 

Every progressive change of position requiring al- 
most the same care and patience of that preceding. 
For example, if in teaching a horse to become re- 
gardless of an umbrella, it were shown only on the 
near side, upon carrying it to the off side, would in- 
spire nearly as much fear as at first from the near 
side, or there may be aversion to some particular ob- 
ject, or resistance may be inspired only under certain 
circumstances. You may succeed in getting a colt 
gentle to be rode from the near side, but upon at- 
tempting to do so from the off side, would, in all 



probability, be resisted. A gentle horse upon being 
hitched to a top buggy for the first time, upon get- 
ting a glimpse of the top over the blinders, became 
so alarmed as to defy all control, kicked clear of the 
carriage and ran away; was as usual gentle and fear- 
less to an open buggy, but would not bear a top. A 
fine young stallion perfectly regardless of a locomo- 
tive, and apparantly of everything else, was so fright 
ened by the sound and appearance of an engine sud- 
denly from behind, which was a position he never 
saw it from before, that he kicked himself clear of the 
/wagon and got away, and would thereafter, not only 
kick in harness upon hearing the least rattle or un- 
usual sound, but would not bear a locomotive. The 
impulse of fear first induced by the engine, prompted 
the kicking which brought the feet in contact with 
the cross-piece of the shafts, which increased his ter- 
ror, and associating thereby the wagon with the en- 
gine, its rattling noise became a cause of repungence 
as that of the engine or cars. 

A high spirited, but gentle mare was taken to a 
smith shop. The smith struck her sharply tw r o or 
three times, for not standing or submitting the foot 
to his; satisfaction, which so frightened the mare that 
she would not allow any one having a leather apron 
on to go near her, or allow her feet to be handled. 
Have frequently found instances of horses being 
gentle single, but vicious and unmanageable double, 
and gentle double, but not single, etc., etc. 

These peculiararities imply the necessity, as ex- 
perience proved, of forcing an understanding of the 
object from every side, and in every manner it is us- 
ually seen byjiim when in use. 

If, for instance, a horse is afraid of an umbrella 
while in harness, he ma}- be taught to care nothing 
about it out of harness; but if not taught to feel and 
understand, its character in harness, would be apt to 



I 91. i 

be as much frightened at it in that position, as if he 
knew nothing about it. 

This seems to puzzle many well-meaning men, and 
is often the cause of much disappointment, 

A horse that is afraid of an umbrella, is brought 
forward to illustrate the management of such habits. 
In a short time the horse will bear the umbrella over 
and around him in any manner without seeming to 
care anything about it. The owner is pleased with 
the belief that his horse is broken; when in harness 
at some future time, he raises an umbrella behind the 
animal and is astonished to find him as bad as ever, 
and he naturally condemns the instruction as of no 
account; and indeed without reflection, this would 
seem to be about the truth of the matter. But when 
it is seen in the first place that it is often necessary 
to repeat the lesson several times a day, possibly for 
days, to fix an impression of the harmless character 
of the object; and in the second place that it is often 
necessary to give the horse the same understanding 
of the object in harness, that expecting the animal 
to be broken of the habit by a single indirect lesson, 
only tends to defeat success. For without ability to 
control the horse, every attempt to force upon him l he 
object of aversion, only inspires greater resistance, 
because taught to a still greater degree to resist con- 
trol, and a sense of freedom always tends to increase 
the animal's fear of the object. Now the efforts of 
the owner to control the horse directly in a position 
of so great a disadvantage, may produce exactly this 
result, and then from an ignorance of the cause of 
failure, it is believed impossible to make the horse 
gentle. 

The main point of success in overcoming nervous 
sensibility, is in the tact of preventing the horse from 
becoming frightened from any cause, and when ex- 
cited with fear of an object, as circumstances and op 
portunity will permit, to let him see and understand 



(92. j 

that it is harmless. Let the object be seen and brought 
to his notice from different directions, and above all, 
the lesson must be repeated day after day, if neces- 
sary, so long as the animal shows fear of the object, 
otherwise the efforts will be useless and the horse 
made more timid and unmanageable than before. 

The Management of Old Horses of this Character* 

is virtually the same as that of colts. The only dif- 
ference being in the greater restraint necessary to 
overcome the extreme resistance a great sense of fear 
may cause. A horse excited with great fear of an 
object, may not only try with all the energy of de- 
spair to free himself from restraint and get away, but 
light most wickedly. Indeed, I regard a horse feel- 
ing extreme fear of an object, as being one of the 
most difficult and dangerous to encounter. He is 
likely at any instant to throw all his strength into 
the contest for freedom, and if held near the object 
may strike and kick at it with all the recklessness of 
despair. The control of such should be made as se 
vere as possible, by thorough training with the war 
bridle (small loop.) Then tie down as tight as pos- 
sible. The horse will be so disconcerted and disa 
abled by this, that he is unable either to wholly con- 
centrate his attention upon the object, or resist the 
severe restraint upon the mouth. If an umbrella, 
robe, or anything of the kind is the cause of fear, it 
can now be brought gently to his notice, and as he 
will bear, against the nose, head, neck and body as 
b. lore described. 

Should the animal prove to be not only extremely 
nervous, but vicious, tie the head to the tail, as ex- 
plained for balking, etc., and keep the horse moving 
until resistance becomes impossible, and while tied, 
forcing an understanding of the object, gradually 
giving freedom, and repeat the lesson as may be nec- 
essary. If a top wagon is the cause of fear, getthor- 



93. i 

ough control of the mouth with the war bridle, then 
gradually work the horse up to the wagon rattling it, 
etc. Then lead hirn into the shafts, and, as he will 
bear, turning him around and backing him into and 
pulling the shafts upon him, raise and lower the top, 
etc., repeating the lesson as may be found necessary. 
When the horse is attached to the wagon, the top 
should be lowered, and the greatest care a should be 
taken to have the harness strong, and every detail of 
the hitching perfect, and to guard against possible 
resistance or accident, attach a strap to one or each 
of the fore feet, with the ends carried over the belly 
band back to the wagon and hold with the reins. 
Such a horse, it must be remembered, is likely to do 
his utmost to get away, and as it is not always possi- 
ble to control with the reins, the advantage of con- 
trolling by the feet becomes indispensable. The 
horse must now be driven and be made to submit to 
control, with the top up or down at will, until regard- 
less of it and is perfectly manageable. 



HABITS OF THE HORSE. 



Turning - Around find Running' Away. 

Some horses get in the habit of turning around in 
the road and running headlong in the defiance of the 
control of the reins when excited b} T fear of an ob- 
ject or sound. To break such, get the utmost con- 
trol of the mouth with the war bridle, and carry out 
this advantage by keeping the head checked high 
and using a sharp, strong bit that gives purchase 
enough to jerk the horse off his feet at the least inti- 
mation of resistance. Now be gentle and prudent in 
overcoming the fear of the animal, as explained in 
other cases, if necessary* 

Horses often resist with so much energy in this 
way from a sense of a great fear, or some particular 
objecl of sound, most commonly that of an engine 
and cars, that all sense of restraint is lost in the 
struggle to get away. To overcome such resistance, 
we use what we denominate 

Mechanic or Safety Shafts, 

ms le as follows: 

Get three scantlings or poles of good tough timber 
>ut four inches in diameter, and fourteen feet 
in length* each. Put down two ol' these, so as to 
them two»feet apart and thirteen at the other. 
Now lay the other pole across on the ends of the 
others widest apart, about six inches from the ends. 
Mi : : and halve them together. Then bore a hole 
through both pieces at each corner so fitted, and bolt 
then; firmly together. To fix the other ends, get a 
in iron, four feet long, and bend it in the 



form of a breast collar, the rounding side in, so as to 
have each end extend back on the inside of the poles, 
ten or twelve inches, and lit up nicely to the wood. 
Have two holes punched or drilled through each end 
of the iron, by which to bolt it firmly to the poles. 
Then drive staples into or near the ends. 

To finish the other ends, take two pieces of iron 
about a foot each in length and an inch in diameter, 
flat one end and punch through two holes. Work 
down the other ends to a sharp point; bend down the 
ends so sharpened about six inches, in the form of a 
half circle; bolt these irons under the ends of the 
poles, the sharp end pointing down and back, form- 
ing dogs, something like those on the end of sleigh 
runners, to prevent the sleigh running back. Now 
harness your horse into this arrangement, taking the 
precaution to wind the irons across the ends with an 
old piece of cloth and strengthening the harness if at 
all likely to break, by tying a piece of rope around 
with the breechen and around the body as may be 
thought necessary. Though perhaps the best way 
to hold, the shafts, as we call them, nicely up to the 
neck, is by bringing a strong rope or strap over the 
neck and fastening around the iron near the wood. 
It must be remembered that before hitching the horse 
into this, he should be subjected to the most thor- 
ough training of the mouth with the war bridle. 
When hitched, get behind the cross-piece, holding 
the reins. If the horse now attempts to go back, the 
iron hooks on the ends of the poles settle into the 
ground, making it impossible to do so. Should lie 
attempt to turn short around, the pole extends out 
and back from the shoulders at almost right angles, 
preventing a movement in that direction. If he at- 
tempts to rear, the restraint of the breechen becomes 
a lifting lever upon the hind parts, and the horse is 
at once disabled. Now drive the horse forward to 
the cars, putting your loot on the cross-piece and 
holding the horse to his position when showing fear, 



to the end of forcing him up to the object of fear. 

It must be remembered that a horse once really 
frightened at an object, which is likely to produce 
such great and sudden fear as an engine or cars, can 
seldom with anything like ordinary effort, be made 
so regardless of them when suddenly and unexpect- 
edly moved near him, as to be made at all safe for 
family driving, or purposes involving much respons- 
ibility when brought into possible proximity to them. 
But if the animal is much prized, and rendering him 
safe and gentle much of an object, go to work with a 
will, following up one advantage after another, driv- 
ing the horse often and perseveringly around the cars 
until successful. But it must be remembered that 
fear is the least voluntary and least controlable to 
the reason of the feelings, when once fully aroused 
and when the nervous system is prostrated by its 
force and continuance, it is the most difficult of all 
manageable habits to overcome. There is a limit to 
the advantages of skillful management, in this re- 
spect, so far as absolute success is concerned. It is 
not possible to make a horse of any spirit absolutely 
fearless, and the consideration which should govern 
an honest desire to hit the mark best, is to give a 
correct understanding of what it is practical to do. 
My advice is, if the horse is really bad, do not trust 
yourself or family behind him. The risk is too great 
to be borne, or advised to be hazarded in the hands 
of most men. 

Kicking- in Harness. 

It is very essential, in the first place, that the mouth 
is made as manageable as possible to the control of 
the bit. An unmanageable mouth is one of the 
great causes of mischief in many ways, and none 
more than in kicking. If there is good control of 
the mouth, so that you can attract and hold the 
horse's attention and throw the head up the instant 



there is the Least intimation given of kicking by a 
sharp jerk on the reins, yon can, in almost an instant 
prevent the developement of this intention. Put on 
the war bridle (small loop,) and work up the mouth 
thoroughly. If the horse is dull or hard mouthed, 
change the small loop for the large one, or colt's bri- 
dle, which lias a more severe and positive effect up- 
on the mouth. Repeat the lesson twoor three times, 
or until the mouth is made perfectly manageable. 
Then use a sLort snaffle bit that will enable the abil- 
ity to retain this advantage. 

If the horse is young and not very bad or deter- 
mined in the habit, put on the foot strap, having the 
war bridle on. Now work the horse up on the tioor, 
tripping and disconcerting as in teaching the colt to 
submit to being touched with straps or anything else 
about the legs. When there is submission to being 
touched in this way, hitch to a wagon and hold the 
foot strap as a rein while driving. Now trip and dis- 
concert the horse, by taking and giving the foot at 
pleasure, and so disabling him at each indication of 
resistance until gentle. This training should be 
thorough, and repeated until there is perfect sub- 
mission. Now check up short and control and hold 
the horse from kicking by the restraint and control 
of the bit, If the horse is slow and kicks only once 
in a while, take a rounded strap or strong half inch 
rope about twenty feet in length, place the center of 
it on top of the head, pass both ends through the 
rings of the bit, then through the gag runners and 
back through the terrets. Have a ring fastened to 
the back strap of the breechen, back of the hips, put 
both cords or straps through this ring, pass down on 
each side and tie short enough to the shafts to bring 
the head well up. Everything should be so strong 
as not to endanger oreaking. The horse is now nice- 
ly checked up, with the restraint so connected that 
at the least effort to throw the hind parts up, the 
reins are so pulled upon as to throw the head up in- 



bluntly, and the horse is thereby disconcerted and 
disabled from bis purpose A leather strap that has 
been nicely fitted and rounded at least from the head 
to Lips, adds to the appearance of the harness, and 
shows the apparent intention-only of a check. If the 
horse is a reckless, determined kicker, more severe 
and positive measures of restraint and reproof are 
necessary. 

Put on the war bridle, (small loop,) and work up 
sharply right and left. If tiie month is hard and un- 
yielding, change for the large loop, or colt's bridle, 
and work up three or four minutes. Then let the 
horse rest a few hours, and repeat until the mouth is 
sensitive and manageable to the hit. Next put on 
the war bridle, (small loop,) tie a piece ot rope tight- 
ly around the body, just back of the shoulders. Put 
a strong and well fitting rope halter on the head, tie 
a strong' two-inch ring on the end of the hitching 
part, which should be of a length to extend between 
the fore legs, over, and just back of the belly band. 
Have made two strong straps, with rings in them, of 
a, suitable length, to buckle around the hind legs 
above the fetlocks. Now drawn down tightly upon 
the war bridle and tie into a half inch. This will 
make the horse stand quietly while being handled 
beh'nd. Now buckle the straps around the hind legs 
above the ietlocks. Then take a piece of strong 
Manilla rope, long enough to extend from the ring- 
on the end of the halter back to the belly band, to 
each hind foot. Pass the end of this through the 
ring to the center, and tie each end carefully into the 
ring on the straps around the hind legs, the whole so 
arranged in length that the horse can travel easily 
and naturally. Now untie the war bridle and let 
the horse jump and kick. If necessary restrain and 
punish with the war bridle. If the horse is a reckless, 
determined kicker, make him kick all he will, then 
treat him gently. If the horse submits pretty well, 
the straps may be taken oil', and let him stand quietly 



for a few hours. The folly should never be indulged 
of trying to see if the horse would kick after the 
straps have been taken off. Then put on the straps, 
etc., as before. If the horse does not kick treat him 
gently; if he does, force sharply, until there is sub- 
mission. If the horse is a bad kicker, leave the 
straps on while standing. When he will bear being 
moved around in the yard without kicking, would 
hitch to a wagon and drive, repeating thoroughly, day 
after day, until there is no disposition to kick. Thfm 
take off the straps, and, when driving, checkup 
short. The best and most natural check lor this pur- 
pose is made by passing the < heck reins through the 
rings of the bit and fastening to the check pieces of 
the bridle up near the ears, or passing up and unty- 
ing the ends on top the head, back of the ears. The 
gag-runners ought to be well up near the ears, and 
strong, or use the Jackson form of check. Checking 
up the horse in this way, short, with the control and 
restraint of the reins, by pulling upon them sharply 
at the instant there is an indication of kicking, will 
now, with care, enable the advantage of keeping the 
horse from kicking. 

Bad kickers must be handled thoroughly, and with 
great care to be successful. It is necessary in some 
cases, to leave the straps on a week or two, and then 
the control or reproof upon the mouth should be 
carried out in the most careful and thorough manner. 
The mouth is the grand point of control in most all 
cases, and especially in the management of the kicker 
is this essential. The mouth should be worked up 
once in a while with the war bridle, to keep it sensi- 
tive, and fix upon the mind a sense of submission to 
the restraints of the bit. 

When the horse is very excitable and nervous, this 
is a difficult habit to break up. If the training is 
careless, and is not made thorough, little advantage 
will be gained in the management of these bad kick- 
ers. With the most skilful and thorough treatment 



it is hard enough, and indeed almost impossible, in 
many instances, to make such horses practically safe. 

Kicking and Striking while Shoeing-. 

Some horses have a peculiar aversion to having 
their feet handled, and if once roused to resistance, 
from any cause, arc apt to become pretty determined 
in the habit. If the foot is pulled away when taken 
up, or the horse is excited and injured in some way, 
while the foot is held, the fear of injury is produced 
and associated with the requirement, which by the 
usual pulling, hauling and kicking practices of the 
shop, make the horse worse. The least intimation 
of ability to resist after being taken in hand, always 
inspires the horse to renewed confidence and resist 
ance, and if there is not ability or perseverance 
enough to enforce the end of perfect submission after 
trying to do so, the horse is only made worse, more 
reckless and determined in the habit. As the object 
is to break up the habit, the energies must be con 
contrated as directly and forcibly as possible, until 
the horse is so disconcerted and shaken in the confi- 
dence of his powers of resistance, as to yield to re- 
straint and submit the feet as required, when the 
submission must be made permanent by patient, gen 
tie treatment. The treatment here given applies to 
the worst eases, though we have found it necessary 
in some instances to resort to more severe treatment, 
but the exceptions are so rare, requiring the extreme 
of force, and may be the cause of accident to others, 
that we do nol think it advisable to give more than 
we would believe most practical, with rare excep- 
tions. 

If the horse kick's and resists, having the hind feet 
shod, put. on the war bridle, (small loop,) leaving the 
bridle or halter on. 'Take a firm hold of the strap, or 
nun, about six or eight inches from the" head, grab 
the hair of thj tail, and swing the hors s 3harply four 
or live times around. Phis will make tie j horse diz 



zy. Now pull the cord right ami left six or eight 
times, as quickly and energetically as possible. Then 
tie the long 1 strap around the neck, near the shoul- 
ders, in the form of a running noose; pass the other 
end back between the fore legs, around the hind leg, 
below the fetlock and back through the loop, round 
the neck, drawing it through short enough to bring 
the foot well forward. Pass the end back under, to 
prevent sliding, and retain in the hand. The horse 
will now be very likely to struggle to uet the foot 
loose Should his resistance be so great as to en- 
danger injury, you can give loose on the end of the 
strap. When the horse cease* trying to get the foot 
loose, rest the left hand upon the hip, with the right 
pull on the foot forward and outward. If there is great 
resistance, pull the horse around by the head, which 
will enable you to keep him in such limits as you 
wish. When the struggle ceases, go back and han- 
dle as before. When the foot is submitted to the 
hand, while held to the restraint of the strap, put 
the cord well back upon the neck, draw it down 
tightly, and tie into a half hitch. Then pull upon 
the foot with the hand as before. If not resisted, 
untie the strap and take the foot in hand gently. 
Put it down and take it up, rubbing and handling 
until there is entire submission. Then carry it back 
with the right hand, keeping well forward out of dan- 
ger, by resting the hand upon the hip, and pulling 
and yielding to the foot until manageable. Now pass 
the left hand down to the inside of the leg, and take 
it adroitly from the right and carry it back gently; 
put it down and take it up once or twice. Then ham- 
mer upon it lightly, gradually increasing, until the 
foot is submitted as required. Now untie the cord 
and tie it a little longer; go back and handle the foot 
as before. If submitted, untie the cord, holding the 
end in the left hand, and handle as before. If there 
is an intimation of resistance, tremble on the cord, 
which will keep attention on the mouth and remind 



of the previous control until the toot is submitted 

without restraint. Manage the other hind foot in 
the same manner. Handle the horse in this way 
three or four times, with the difference of lessening 
the severity force as there is submission, until the 
feet can be handled without resistance or fear. 

When the horse is taken to the shop to be shod, 
put on the bridle, stand at the head, and at the least 
intimation of resistance, tremble the cord; if neces- 
sary, even tying down prett}- short, as at first, but 
care must be taken in no instance to keep the cord 
tied down longer than two or three minutes, as the 
pressure is usually so great upon the mouth and neck 
as to prevent circulation. The smith should handle 
the foot gently, hammering lightly at first, gradually 
striking harder, as there is submission. The foot 
should not be held up very long at a time, and there 
should be especial care to speak encouragingh' to the 
horse, rub the head and neck, etc., after doing well. 

The object is to fix the impression that submission 
is the only wa} r to evade the pain and force of re- 
straint. If the horse strikes and resists shoeing the 
fore feet, turn him around and train with the war 
bridle, as before explained. Then put the long strap 
over the back, and attach the end to the foot. Pull 
the foot up and hold it by this strap, turning the 
horse around by the head if necessary, until the foot 
is submitted. Then pass the end of the strap around 
the foot and tie fast. Now pull right and left four or 
five times energetically with the war bridle, put the 
cord well back upon the neck and tie down tight. 
Handle the foot, and hammer upon it. If there is 
no resistance, untie the strap and take the foot in 
hand and hammer upon it lightly. If there is no 
resistance, untie the cord, caress, and while holding 
the end in the hand, take up the foot quietly. If 
there is no resistance, put it down almost immedi- 
ately, caressing and speaking kindly, as before. In 
this way gradually do and require more, until the foot 



can be taken up, handled ami pounded upon as may 
be necessary, without resistance; but at the least in- 
timation of resistance, punish sharply. This char- 
acter of resistance is not very common, but is usual- 
ly persistent and dangerous. When an extreme char- 
acter, train with the war bridle thoroughly and per- 
severing!}-, while the leg is tied up, until the horse 
is pretty well exhausted. If a colt of a sanguine tem- 
perament, not accustomed to being handled much, 
tie the bridle rein into the tail, as for balking, and 
keep the horse moving, until his reckless spiteful- 
ness wears out, and he submits the foot to be han- 
dled as required. Then untie and handle gently. A 
colt though apparantly very bad, will yield readily to 
this method of management. This treatment is 
pretty effectual, if made at all thorough. But it must 
be remembered that adroitness and care in guarding 
against needless haste and severity, is as essential to 
success, as the advantages of force. Most horses of 
this character are excitable and nervous, and conse- 
quently easily roused to resistance by careless, harsh 
treatment. If the horse strikes badly, and it is only 
desired to put on the shoes with safety, tie the toot 
up, pull sharply right and left upon the war bridle 
until the horse is pretty thoroughly disconcerted. 
Then keep' the foot tied up while putting on the shoe. 

Kit lining Away 

Is the result of a sense of freedom, and want of con 
trol of the mouth. The horse throws the momentum 
of his strength against the bit, and if successful in 
resisting control, the habit is induced. It is true the 
resistance may be caused by the animal becoming 
frightened; but this only points to the principal 
cause of weakness, the feeble control there is over the 
mouth. Train with the war bridle (small loop) four 
or five times. If the mouth is very unmanageable, 
change for the large loop, and work back upon the 
mouth of it pretty thoroughly. This lesson must be 



repented until the mouth is sensitive and managea- 
ble to the bit. Then hitch the horse single, using a 
small steel snaffle-bit, and having on the foot-strap. 
Move the horse gently; after going a few rods pull 
on the foot-strap, saying, "whoa!" Trip and stop the 
horse in this way a few times, by way of feeling of 
him; then move him off sharply and jerk upon the 
reins, saying, "whoa !" in an excited manner. Repeat 
in this way making the horse go slow or fast, making 
him stop at will. You are now in a position to learn 
your exact control of the mouth. If there is 
prompt and unconditional submission to the control 
of the bit, you can trust to the reins; if not, that 
point must be attained by greater advantage of the 
bit. Take two straps, each about a foot in length, 
with a buckle on one end and a ring on the other. 
Run the buckle ends through the rings of the bit, and 
buckle on over the cheek pieces of the head-stall, or 
the cheek pieces may be taken out and these pieces 
put in place of them. When arranged in this way 
the rings must be so large as not to go through the 
rings of the bit. Fasten the reins to the rings on the 
straps. As the lines are pulled upon now the bit is 
forced into the mouth, which will greatly disconcert 
and disable the horse from his purpose. Now drive 
as before, stopping and starting at will. If there is 
decided willfulness, or a determination in the horse 
to resist control, be decided and positive. I have 
had instances of such horses trying to run away in 
defiance of the control of the foot-strap. If this tem- 
per is anticipated put a strap on each forward foot at 
first, then if there is an attempt to rush ahead when 
the foot is drawn up, pull on the other, which will 
stop him at once. Care should be taken, when this 
is found to be necessary, to select a sandy or sodded 
piece of road to prevent having the knees injured. 
Now drive the horse fast or slow, as you please, and 
repeat, stopping him at will, until promptly obedient 
to the control of the reins. 



\ .) 

It the horse mas away from fear of some object or 
cause of excitement, drive around and near sueh, 
stopping and starting the horse, until there is will- 
ingness to submit to restraint and look at things 
without attempting to get away. Remember, also, 
the slower the horse is moved the less liable he is to 
become frightened, and the easier to control his ac- 
tions. 

The mouth should be kept thoroughly managea- 
ble by a sharp lesson with the war bridle two or 
three times a week, for a mouth or two. 

If the horse runs away in double harness, work 
with the war bridie, as before explained, and drive 
with the foot-strap, and repeatedly, until there is sub- 
mission to the control of the mouth. The main 
thing is to get such control over the mouth as will 
insure abilit\ 7 to control the actions of the horse by 
the bit. This is the ultimate object and must be aim- 
ed at from the first. 

It is the worst of folly to hazard life and property 
behind a horse that has once run away until thor- 
oughly broken of the disposition to resist. If the 
horse is old and determined the training must be 
made very thorjugh, and repeated until there is cer 
tainty of control with the reins under any circum- 
stances of excitement. Short of this the horse can- 
not be driven with safety, and had better be put off 
or used for purposes not involving danger. 

It is very remarkable what a powerful effect train- 
ing will have on the mouth, and how strangely stub- 
born and unmanageable a horse may become after 
once learning to resist the restraint and control of 
the bit. 

A strong, high-tempered horse nerved to the con- 
test of resistance in this way, is not by any means to 
be regarded lightly or easily controlled. The greatest 
care should be taken to have the harness and wagon 
used, safe and strong. The contest may be desper- 
ate, and it is part of your strength to provide against 



accident. The great trouble with most people of ev- 
en good experience with horses, is that they do not 
see the necessity and advantage of being thorough 
in changing this habit. Better do much more than 
is necessary, and be successful, than hazard the pos 
sibility of failure by not doing enough. 

A very good way. although not so practical, to man- 
age a desperate runaway horse is as follows: Have 
a little ring or loop attached to the head-piece 
of the bridle, just - back of each ear. Pro- 

vide a strong cord, pass one end through the near 
loop from the top -side, pass down under the throat 
up through the loop on the opposite side, and tie into 
the other part back of the head. The cord now forms 
a loon that draws directly upon from the wagon, 
when the other end is intended to be held, with the 
veins in your hand. When the horse attempts to run 
you can instantly, with the greatest ease, prevent his 
breathing, and he must stop, or soon fall down from 
exhaustion. This is a terrible means of restraint 
and punishment, and is pardonable only when the 
horse is so desperately reckless as to resist other 
mea 

Turning Around While Driving* 

rious and dangerous habit. The limit- 

s it is possible to exercise over the 

ideways while driving, makes it difficult to 

control the resistance of a determined, reckless horse, 

when excited to opposition in this way. The horse 

is usually excited to resistance by being frightened 

in ome way, and when there is, it is most always 

without warning, and with all the energy of despair. 

Without a sense of ability to control the mouth in 

rough and convincing manner, it will be 

impossible to break up this habit, It is easy enough 

to prevent the horse turning around by other means. 

but tl 30 little disposition to use anything re 

quiring any trouble to obtain or use. that they are 



not practical. Get the greatest possible control of the 
mouth with the war bridle (small loop.) To do this 
well, may require three or four thorough lessons. If 
there is not ability to control the horse with ease by 
the ordinary form of power bits, use one made as fol- 
lows : Let the mouth pieces of the simple snaffle form 
extend out two inches from where the rings for the 
reins are, with rings on the ends. Now attach a 
strong, double strap around the nose, from one inside 
ring to the other, quite short, but not tight. Buckle 
the reins into the rings on the ends. When the 
reins are pulled upon now, the joint in the center is . 
thrown forward against the roof of the mouth, the 
strap around the nose being the fulcrum, while the 
great length of mouth piece outward, from where the 
strap is fastened, gives all the advantage of power 
necessary. It would be better perhaps, by having 
two joints at the center, about an inch apart. The 
power over a mouth bj T a bit of this form is very 
great. It gives the power needed to bring the head 
sideways. Associated with this habit is usually that 
of 

Runuiiig- Ka.ck. 

To break up this habit, there must be established 
a thorough fear of the whip, so as to induce going 
ahead, whenever commanded. Put on harness and 
tie the tugs into the rings of the breeehen rather 
short. Now drive around with the reins, giving a 
sharp cut with a good bow whip around the "tegs, 
once in a while, if not prompt. As the horse learns 
to spring ahead a little on the lines, gradually repeat- 
ing until he will pull quite hard on the bit to go 
ahead. Make this as thorough as possible. In driv- 
ing, repeat, and carry out this, going ahead prompt- 
ly, whipping up sharply once in a while if necessary. 
This purpose can be carried out with more certainty 
in driving, if the foot strap is used. 
It is scarcely necessary i'o add, that to in- 



10 8. J 

sure success, requires prudence and thoroughness. 
Persevere until the horse is made manageable under 
the most exciting circumstances. If the animal is 
reckless and dangerous, the mechanic or safety shafts 
described to control horses afraid of cars, etc., can be 
used. 

Pulling Hard on tike Bit. 

If the horse is of a moderate character, the resist- 
ance proceeds from a want of sensibility in the mouth. 
Work the mouth up with the war bridle, (large loop) 
until made sensitive to restraint. Whenever there 
is a disposition to pull a little too hard, give a quick 
raking pull on the lines, repeating as may be neces- 
sary. Repeat the lesson of working up with the war 
bridle three or four times, to fix the impression of 
submission to restraint. As there is now a disposi- 
tirn to pull too hard while driving, give a quick, 
raking pulkm the reins, which will soon break up the 
habit, If the horse is sensitive and energetic, estab- 
lish, if possible, a feeling of submission to restraint 
by careful and thorough training with the war bri- 
dle, both small and large loops. Use a small snafHe 
bit, and at each effort to rush ahead, give a sharp side 
pull right and left on the lines, as before explained, 
giving loose immediately, and so repeating at each 
effort to pull ahead, being careful not to show any 
excitement. The horse will soon learn to avoid the 
pain of these raking pulls, by going slower. Great 
delicacy and patience are necessary to break up this 
habit thoroughly. The natural ardor of the horse 
forces resistance to restraint. Excitement increases 
this tendency, and if once established, the horse will 
pull a bit that will bruise and cut the mouth in the 
most severe manner. Talk gently and encouraging- 
ly to such a horse, but reprove sharply, as before ex- 
plained, for the least disposition to lug. This will 
excite the horse at first. He may dance and fret but 
no matter. At every attempt to pull, set him back. 



1 1)9 . 



V>v beins patient and persevering in -reproving and 
forcing obedience to control, whenever .there lis an 
impulse to resistance, with rare exceptions, the horse 
will soon learn to yield readily to the most gentle 
control of the rein, [f the horse resists this treat 
ment, drive with the purchase strap, as explained 
for the control of runaway horses. 

Will not Back. 

Put on the war bridle, (large loop,) step in front 
of the horse, and press back upon the bridle quietly. 
If the horse goes back a little, caress; if not, after a 
short interval, press •< little harder, being careful not 
to be too hurried or excited, as by too great an effort 
to force at first the horse is apt to become so greatly 
excited, and the sensibility of the mouth in conse- 
quence,' so soon blunted, that the horse could scarcely 
be made to yield to very severe training. Continue 
at slow intervals, repeating the pulls upon the mouth 
caressing and speaking encouragingly for the least 
effort to go back but making tic power of the bridle 
felt, Some horses do not seem to know how to 
back, or are so dull and sulky as to resist all ordi- 
nary effort. When the resistance is of this charac- 
ter, throw the short web over the back, and tie the 
vnd to the off fore foot. Pull the foot up with this 
web, then let it down gradually, and while doing so, 
press back gently upon the 'bridle Holding the 
the foot and letting it down in this way. brings it 
down back of the other, which weakens the resist 
ance, and by a little effort will induce the horse to 
move the other foot to an equal distance to regain 
his balance. Repeat this, until the horse will move 
back quite easily: then follow up the advantage by 
control of the bridle, oi' get an assistant to attach a 
web or cord to the foot, and get behind the horse and 
pull the foot back, wheu you can press as before, 
gently upon the bridle. To work easily and thor 
oughiy. it is best to stop as soon as the horse becomes 
much excited or sulks, for an hour or two: then re- 



LI 10 

peat. When the horse will go backas required, then 
back while hitched to a wagon, first a little down hill, 
and then on a level, gradually in positions requiring 
more strength. Work gradually but thoroughly, giv- 
ing the horse time to understand what is required, 
thus gradually pressing him to do more, until he has 
learned, and is willing to use his strength in this 
way. 

Pulling; on the Halter. 

Tie a piece of rope around the body, back of the 
shoulders, in the form of a girth; put on a strong rope 
halter, with the hitching part about ten feet in length. 
Lead the horse into his stall, and quietly pass the 
hitching part through the ring or hole in the manger, 
and pass it back between the forelegs over the girth, 
and around the fetlock, long enough to enable the 
horse to go back four or five feet before feeling re- 
straint. When all is ready, strike upon the rope fif- 
teen or twenty inches from the head, with a pole in 
an excited manner. The instant the horse settles 
back to pull, the restraint comes equally upon the 
hind foot, which will so disable and disconcert him, 
that after a hard pull or two, he will jump ahead. If 
the horse is of a slow, determined character, force 
back with energy. The instant the horse conies 
ahead, stop and caress. Then push him back by the 
halter and at each repetition of settling back to a 
pull, make him pull as hard as possible. 

This lesson must be repeated so long as there is 
the least disposition to pull. Hitch in the stall in 
this way for a few da^ys, and, as may be necessaiy to 
hitch to other places, attach to the fore leg above the 
knee. The horse should be hitched in this way, un- 
til there is certainty of his not pulling. 

Almost any way of bringing the restraint upon the 
hind parts if carried out with energy and prudence, 
will enable the changing of this habit. The halter 
can be attached to the hair of the tail, a piece of rope 
brought under the tail in the form of crouper, tied 



together over the buck, then brought forward on each 
side of the shoulders, and fastened to the end of the 
hitching part of the halter, would be perhaps a better 
way of doing this. When the horse is of a moderate 
determined character, the great point of success is in 
frightening and forcing back with energy, when 
hitched, Colts of a sanguine temperament, not ac- 
customed to much restraint, are by far, more reck- 
less and determined than old horses. 'While they 
yield more readily than the old horse, the;, are more 
reckless at first, and would be apt to pull themselves 
down. Whipping and frightening the old horse with 
energy at the instant of his pulling, prevents this; 
but the colt is not likely to respond to the force of 
any excitement. He seems to loose all conscious- 
ness of feeling in his strange desperation, and you 
would be defeated. 

Instead of tying the hitching part to the leg, bring- 
round the leg and retain in the hand. Now, if the 
horse pulls too recklessly, give loose on the halter, 
then lead him up again and repeat until the resist- 
ance is so weakened that the halter can be attached 
to the foot with safety. It is always best to weaken 
the disposition in the colt to pull, by training with 
the war bridle, until there is prompt obedience to its 
restraint, when pulled upon ahead, as for bridle pull- 
ing. 

Pulling oit the Bridle. 

Put on the war bridle (small loop) and bring the 
part over the neck up to the ears. Now step a little 
forward and sideways and give a quick energetic pull 
on the cord. In a few seconds, give another sharp 
pull, repeating at short intervals until the horse comes 
ahead a little. Immediately loosen the cord and ca- 
ress. Then repeat the pull and so continue for four 
or five minutes, when the horse' should be allowed to 
rest an hour or two, and again repeat the lesson un- 
til a the horse will come ahead promptly when pulled 
upon. 



Now run the curd through tbo ring of the hitching 
post, having the horse stand three or four feet side- 
ways from it, and give him a sharp pull. Should he 
come up to the post promptly, loosen the cord upon 
the head and caress; repeat pulling until he does. 
When the horse comes up promptly, get some one to 
frighten him hack; should he pull, hold against him 
until he comes up again, and so repeat. It may be 
necessary to repeat this lesson two or three times to 
break up the habit thoroughly. Make the lesson of 
leading ahead very thorough. Lf the horse does not 
lead well, put the cord down on the neck and pull 
sideways, right, and left, a lew minutes, then bring 
the cord up to the ears and pull ahead until there is 
prompt obedience to the least restraint upon the bri- 
dle. 

Culling- on one Reiia. 

Put on the war bridle (small loop) and pull in the 
opposite way, until the horse will come round prompt- 
ly. Make this thorough by training, etc., two or 
three times. Use a small snaffle bit :m<\ at the least 
intimation of resistance, pull on the line two or three 
times sharply. If the horse does not yield to this, 
put on the war bridle and give a few sharp side 
pulls as before. When the horse is roused to resist 
anee, alter there is an effort to change the habit, the 
training must be continued until there is uncondi 
tioual surrender. 

Had to KritUc. 

Put on the war bridle (small loop,) pull right and 
left a few times and tie down short. Now handle' the 
head quietly, rubbing the way the hair lies, gradual 
ly working up to the ear--. A^ there is submission 
tie the cord a little longer. riieu hold the con I in 
the hand, whole the other is pas-;. 1 . 1 over the neck; 
as this is done press down a little with the hand 
over the neck and head and pull neatly with the 
otiier on t he i-ow\. When I h. 1 h.?a 1 is viet.lj 1 in t he 



[113.] 

least, ease on the cord and caress and so repeat until 
the head can be handled freely. 

Now tie down short enough to prevent the head 
being thrown up. Take the bridle in the right, 
bring it over the head and neck gently; with the left 
hold the bit lightly between the fingers. Press down 
with the right to hold the head steady, while the bit 
is being worked in the mouth gently with the left. 
If the horse does not open his mouth freely for the 
bit, press the lower lip against the teeth with the 
fingers, which will cause him to do so readily. Now 
gradually reduce the restraint, until the bridle can be 
put on easily without being tied. If the horse runs 
back and strikes, back him into a stall, put on the 
girth, press the cord between the legs over the girth 
back to the head and tie into the part around the 
jaw. Now put on the bridle gently. It requires 
much firmness and prudence to manage horses of this 
character well. They are usually excitable, and, 
however severe the restraint, at first, it must be re- 
moved and the fear or disposition to resist, overcome, 
until the head can be handled and submitted as re- 
quired. If the horse is disposed to resist the bit and 
it is simply desired to put on the bridle, pass the 
right hand under the neck around the nose and hold 
it firmly, while the bit is put into the mouth with the 
left, then bring the head up gently and put it over 
the ears. If there is much resistance at any time, it 
ought to be immediately controlled by the restraint 
of the bridle. 

If ail Hiters. 

An old, bad horse of this character cannot be made 
reliably gentle, by the most thorough training. The 
least want of watehiag seems to be forever encoura- 
ging the horse to satisfy his propensit\ T ; and however 
through the training, it' there is not watchfulness, the 
horse will be continually encouraged to break over, 
and persevere in the habit. The main point of suc- 
cess is to fix, and hold the horse's attention. Work 



up thoroughly with the war bridle, then reprove 
sharply for the least attempt to bite. Let the actions 
and language indicate confidence and power. In ap- 
proaching the head look at the e} T e and speak sternly 
saying, "Take care, sir!" or something of the kind. 
If the eye is roguish, and the ears are thrown back, 
bring the hand well up on the head, then down to 
the nose-piece of the halter, and grab firmly where 
the cheek-piece is attached. If there is an attempt 
to bite now, the hand is carried up with the head, 
and is held out of reach of the mouth. If the horse 
is not very old, with thorough training and good man- 
agement the habit can be held in cheek, and possibly 
broken up; but an old, bad horse of this character 
cannot be made safe. So long as there remains a 
desire to resist, the horse cannot be regarded broken. 
The intention is most always held latent, liable to be 
developed at the least indication of weakness; and if 
the horse is allowed to bite in a determined manner, 
without instant and positive reproof, training will do 
but little good — and in fact, the horse is liable to be- 
come worse by the experiment. 

Pawing in Stalls. 

Get a piece of chain about ten inches in length, 
run a short strap through one of the end links, and 
buckle it around the foot above the fet lock; or a 
piece of light chain can be fasted to a small block, 
and attach it. to the foot in the same manner. When 
the horse attempts to get paw, the clog or chain rat- 
tles against the foot, and prevents a repetition of the 
practice. 

Getting Cast in Stall. 

Drive a staple into a beam or the floor directly ov- 
er the horse's head, as he stands in the stall, to which 
attach a strap or piece of small rope of sufficient 
length to extend to within fifteen inches of the floor. 
Before retiring for the night, attach the other end of 
the cord or strap to the top of the halter, making it 



[115] 

just long enough to allow the horse to put his nose to 
the floor. Being now unable to get the top of his 
head to the floor he is prevented from rolling. 

Running in Pasture and Jumping Fences. 

Put on the horse a nicely fitting old five-ring hal- 
ter; get a piece of thin leather from twelve to four- 
teen inches square (an old boot leg cut open is the 
best,) cut a hole in each corner of this leather. Now 
tie two corners up to the cheek piece of the halter, 
near the ears, with a couple of strings; tie the other 
corners to the cheek pieces below the eyes in the 
same manner. This brings the leather in front of 
the eyes with its corners so drawn back, above and 
below, as to prevent the horse looking forward, above 
or below the eyes, though free to see in any other di- 
rection. He will not trot or run or jump, because un- 
able to see ahead, and is in consequence afraid to do 
so. s 

Breaking up While Trotting. 

If the horse cannot be held down to his gait, when 
forced on the trot, put on a light web halter. Have 
fitted a nice, strong strap, long enough to extend 
from the jaw to the belly-baud of the harness, one 
end arranged with a buckle so as to enable taking up, 
or letting out to fit, with a two-inch ring stitched into 
the other end; attach this to the halter back of the 
jaw, run the other end back between the legs, over 
and just back of the belly band. Buckle two nicely 
fitting straps with rings in them, around the hind 
legs above the letlocks. Now take a strong piece of 
half inch rope and run it through the ring on the end 
of the halter strap, and tied the ends into the rings 
in the straps around the hind feet, regulating the 
length so as to enable the horse to move easily and 
naturally, but not longer. 

The horse is now free to trot, but the instant there 
is an effort to run, the connection between the feet 



ami head is shortened, and the head is pulled 
back to a corresponding degree with the feet. The 
horse will very soon learn this, and fear the effect of 
breaking, so much so as to hold to the trot at all haz- 
ards. 

The horse should be exercised and driven with 
this means of restraint until he learns to strike out, 
and there is ability to hold him down to the top of 
his speed. 

To Add Style. 

Put on the war bridle, ( large loop) step in front, 
holding cord in the right hand, give a slight pull. 
The horse will usually throw the head up, as the ef- 
fect of the restraint is back and upwards, but if the 
nose is given back towards the breast, reverse the 
pull by throwing the hand up. Repeat this until the 
head is thrown up promptly to the least pull, either 
on the cord or halter. 

By making this lesson thorough, the horse can be 
so fixed in the habit of throwing the head up, by be- 
ing pulled upon, that while driving, the head can be 
thrown up at will, b} r giving a short pull on the reins. 

Throwing the head up gracefully, when pulled up- 
on with reins or by halter, is a part of the object of 
bitting. 

If the nose is thrown out, pull down and back 
steadily, but firmly. As the horse yields, give loose 
and caress, repeating untii t'le mouth is given back 
promptly. In driving to harness, have the martin- 
gales a little short, using them so, until the mouth is 
submitted to restraint easily and naturally. Now 
gradually add more style, by pulling on the reins a 
little, and repeating as the head is lowered in the 
least, until it is not only brought up, but back, as re- 
quired. If not successful in this, put on the bridle 
as before, and work up with it until successful, fcnen 
gradually, while driving, hring the head up with the 
control of the reins. 



TEACHING HORSES TO DO TRICKS, &C, 



Do not hurry your horse too fast in his tuition. 
When it is desired to teach him to do anything, be- 
gin inoderatety and thoroughly — go on the? slow, sure 
principle. If } 7 ou undertake to learn your horse too 
much, or too fast in the start, or indeed at any time, 
you only confuse and discourage him. Do so much as 
he can comprehend and appreciate, and daily pro- 
gress. 

Teaching the Horse to Follow You. 

If it is desired to simply teach the horse to follow 
promptly with halter or bridle on, apply the war bri- 
dle, (small loop) when he comes round promptly, 
stand off a short distance and say, "Come here, sir." 
If he does not come to you, give a sharp pull, gradu- 
ally changing positions and going a little farther. — 
When he comes promptly, caress; if not, pull sharp- 
ly, repeating in this way until you can make him 
come to you promptly in any direction. 

TO Make the Horse Follow AVith the Whip. 

The simplest and easiest way to do this is to work 
up sharply with the war bridle, and when the horse 
comes around promptly, take a short blunt whip, step 
up to the shoulder, and while holding the bridle 
loose in the hand, press the whip gently over the 
shoulder, and tap lightly on the off side of the head. 
This will annoy the horse and cause him to move the 
head a little from it towards you ; instantly stop and 
caress; then repeat the tapping again. Should he at- 
tempt to run from you, hold him by the bridle. Re- 
peat in this way until the horse will step towards you 



[1 15.1 

promptly. Then touch the whip over the hip and 
say, "Come, sir." If he comes up to you or shows the 
least disposition to do so, caress, and so continue un- 
til he will come up promptly. Now step a little side- 
ways and ahead, and say, "Come, sir.'' If he should 
step after you, caress; if not, touch the lash over the 
hips. In a short time the horse will learn to step to 
you and follow promptl}'. When he will do this, 
stand him in a corner of the room, stand a little in 
front of him and touch him lightly with the whip on 
the fore legs, and say, "Come here, sir." At the 
least intimation of coming, stop and caress. Then 
repeat, touching with the whip. If he moves to you 
a little, stop and caress, and in this way repeat until 
he will come to } r ou promptly. Then get a little far- 
ther from him and repeat in the same manner until 
he will learn to hurry up to you to get away from the 
whip. Should he bolt away, put on the bridle and 
hold the end in the left hand. You can now hold him 
by the bridle when he attempts to run, until he finds 
he can not get away, and will come up promptly. 

This lesson should be made very thorough before 
there is an attempt to take the horse out of doors, and 
then in a small yard, If this is not convenient, put 
on the bridle, having good length of cord, and hold in 
the hand loosely. 

If the horse is of a bad character, the following 
method may be used : Turn the horse into a room 
or small yard well enclosed. Provide yourself with 
a good bow whip. The horse will feel uneasy and 
look around at you, and then perhaps for some place 
by which to escape. Walk up to him, and as he runs 
into a corner, apply the lash sharply under his flanks 
following him up and making the whip sting keenly 
for a short time. When he stops or turns his head 
toward you, stop instantly, reach out the hand, at the 
same time approaching gently. Should he run or 
turn around to kick, whip instantly as before, and so 



[119 .] 

continue until you can approach and caress the head 
and neck a little. Then say, "Come sir,'' at the same 
time touching the whip lightly over the hips. If he 
comes, or shows the least disposition to do so, caress 
and speak encouragingly. If he runs, whip as before, 
and so repeat until the horse will come up promptly 
when shown the whip. 

As the object is to make the horse honest in fol- 
lowing, it is necessary to make him feel that you 
whip him only for resistance, encouraging and flat- 
tering for every intimation of obedience, until he re- 
alizes his safet}' from the whip to be to come to you. 

To JLie Down. 

Tie the bridle reins into a knot back of the neck. 
Throw your strap over the back, bring the end back 
under the body and tie to the near foot, back of the 
fetlock. Now pass the right hand well over the back 
and take a short hold of the strap. Cause the horse 
to step toward you and pull the foot up. Then pass 
the left hand around the reins and pull down upon 
them in such a manner as to turn the head a little to 
one side, at the same time pulling down steadily but 
firmly on the strap over the back with the right hand. 
As the horse goes down gradually pull down on the 
near rein, so as to bring the head to the left, at the 
same time pressing down and from you firmly with 
the right, until the horse will lie down. Pass the 
end of the strap now through the ring of the bit and 
draw through gently; step over the neck, and as the 
horse attempts to get up, pull him back until he lies 
quiet. Rub and caress him, and after lying a few 
minutes say, "Get up, sir." Repeat in this way for 
a few times until the horse will lie down readily. 
Then while holding him on the near knee with the 
strap, hit him on the shin of the other with a little 
whip, until he will bring it under and lie down. Af- 
ter awhile he can be made to come on his knees an<3 



' 120. . 

lie down by simply pulling the head down a little, 
and hitting the shins with the whip, at the same time 
saying, "Lie down sir," repeating until the horse will 
lie down to the motion of the whip. This is about 
the easiest and most practical way to treat a horse to 
lie down. There is no danger of injuring the knees, 
or causing accident. If the reader should not get 
the sleight of laying a horse down in this way, cover 
the floor deeply with straw, tie up the off fore leg, us- 
ing the strap on the near one over the back as be- 
fore, until the horse will lie down, repeating as may 
be necessaiy, until the horse will lie down at the mo- 
tion of the whip, as before explained. 

To Sit Up. 

When the horse will lie down promptly, put on him 
a common collar, and while being' down, take two 
pieces of rope or anything suitable, about ten feet in 
length. Tie the ends around the hind feet, carry 
them forward between the fore legs, and bring them 
once around the collar. Now step on his tail, take 
the bridle reins in the right hand, while you hold the 
ends of the ropes firmly in the left. Give a little jerk 
on the reins, and say, "Get up, sir." Now, when the 
horse throws out the forward feet, and springs to 
raise himself on the hind feet, he finds himself una- 
able to complete the effort, on account of the hind 
feet being tied forward under him, and so he brings 
himself in a sitting position. Instantly step forward 
holding the ropes firmly, rub and caress the head 
and neck a little for a few seconds, then as you see 
the effort to keep up becoming tiresome, let loose, and 
say, "Get up, sir." By repeating in this way a few 
times, the horse will soon learn to sit up when com- 
manded, without being tied. 

To Malte a Bow. 

Take a pin in your right hand, between the thumb 
and fore-finger, and stand before, but a little to' the 



[121 

left of your horse. Then prick him on the breast very 
lightly, as if a fly biting, which to relieve, he will 
bring clown his head, which you will accept as yes, 
and for which you will reward by caressing and feed- 
ing as before. Then repeat, and so continue until 
he will bring his head down the moment he sees the 
least motion of your' hand toward his breast, or sub- 
stitute some signal which he will understand readily. 

To Say No. 

Stand by your horse near the shoulder, holding the 
same pin in your hand, with which, prick him light- 
ly on the withers, and to drive which away, he will 
shake his head. Y"ou then caress as before, and so 
repeating, until he will shake his head at the least in- 
dication of your touching him with the pin; you can 
train your horse so nicely in this wtxy in a short time, 
as to cause him to shake his head or bow, by merely 
turning the hand a little, or moving it slightly to- 
wards him. 

To Teacli Your Horse to Kiss You. 

Teach him first to take an apple out of your hand. 
Then gradually raise the hand nearer your mouth 
at each repetition, until you require him to take it 
from your mouth, holding it with your hand, telling 
him at the same time to kiss you. He will soon learn 
to reach his nose up to your mouth; first to get his 
apple, but finally, because commanded to do so. Sim- 
ply repeat until the horse understands the trick thor- 
oughly. 

To Shake Mauds. 

Tie a short strap, or a piece of cord, to the forward 
foot, below the fetlock. Stand directly before the 
horse, holding the end of this strap or cord in your 
hand, then say, "Shake hands, sir," and immediately 
after commanding him to do so, pull up on the strap, 
which will bring his foot forward, and which 3-011 are 



1 •■> 2 . j 

to accept as shaking bauds, thanking him for it, by 
caressing and feeding, and so repeat until when you 
make the demand, he will bring the foot forward in 
anticipation of having it pulled up. This is a very 
easy trick to teach the horse. By a little practice a 
horse may easily be trained to approach, make a bow, 
shake hands and follow like a dog, lie down, sit up, 
etc., which make him appear, both polite and intelli- 



How to Break a Horse from Jumping Fences. 

Buckle with a strap with a ring in around above 
the fetlock joint, on the near fore ieg, and one in the 
same place on the near hind leg, then buckle a girth 
around his chest — the same as a saddle girth, and tie 
a half inch rope in the ring of the strap on the fore 
leg, bring the rope over the girth, and back to the 
ring of the strap on the hind leg; tie it so that he can 
walk with it on, and he will jump backwards in the 
same field he starts out of. 

To Break a Horse from Wind-Sucking or Cribbing. 

Take a narrow fine-toothed saw and saw up be- 
tween the upper and lower teeth, in the front part of 
his mouth, and this will stop him in a short time. 

To Keep a Horse from Shoving Down Fences or 
Gates With His Breast. 

Cut out of the harness a piece, in a half-moon fash- 
ion, so it will fit his neck and hang down over his 
breast in the shape of a heart, then drive tacks 
through that will stick through half an inch, then 
buckle a strap to each corner around his neck; tie a 
string to the strap on the top of his neck and back 
to a girth around the body of the horse so it don't 
drop down over his neck, when he puts down his 
head ; every time he goes to the fence, he gets stuck ; 
this will break him in a few days. 



1 133. 
To Keep a. Hone from Breaking: Halters or Bridles. 

Take a rope about twenty feet long, place the cen- 
ter of the rope under his tail, bring up over hi3 rump 
in a shape of a crupper, twist three or four times, so 
it don't drop down over his quarters, then bring the 
ends forward one on each side of his neck and through 
the halter ring or through the rings of the bridle and 
tie him to a tree or post, then scare him and make 
him pull on it a few times, and it will break him so 
that he will stay broke. 

To Break a Balky Horse. 

Take a rope twenty -four feet long, place the middle 
of the rope under his tail the same as to break a 
horse from breaking halters, bring it up over his 
rump like a crupper, give a few twists, bring the ends 
forward, one on each side of his neck through the 
rings of his hames, where the breast chains rest in; 
then to the end of the tongue — this is in double-har- 
ness. Be sure to have your horse hitched equal or 
even, and then start, and your horse will pull every 
time. To work in a four-horse team would, perhaps, 
be the best plan; tie the ends of the rope to the 
stretchers of the front team, and he will always pull 
his share of the load, and break him of the bad habit 
entirely. 

To Make a Horse Appear as if Blind Staggered. 

Take a small rifle-ball, drill a hole down through 
the center; draw a string through and tie a knot on 
it; let the string be about five inches long; put the 
ball in one ear, push the string down in the ear so no 
one can see it, and he will appear to be the worst 
blind-staggered horse you ever saw. To cure, get 
hold of the string and pull out the ball. 

To Break a Horse from Lolling His Tongue Out. 

Have a straight-bore bit made five inches in the 
clear between rings. Make the bit square, round off 



L 1*24 . ] 

the corners a little, then drill two holes through the 
bit from the bottom side up. Then bend a wire in a 
half moon shape, the size of the tongue. Put the 
ends through the holes so that the wire is on the un- 
der side. Buckle the bit in the bridle, and when you 
put on the bridle drop the tongue through the wire 
and he can not get it out of his mouth, and will 
break up the bad habit entirely. The wire must be 
put in the center of the bit two inches apart — that 
is, the ends of the wire should be each one inch from 
the center of the bit. 

American Horse Ponder, 

One ounce Antimony; 

One ounce Fluor of Sulphur; 

One ounce Salt Petre ; 

One ounce Ginger; 

One ounce Gentian ; 

One ounce Fenugreek ; 

One ounce Rosin; 

One ounce Cream Tartar; 

One ounce Tartar Emetic; 

One ounce Alum ; 

One ounce Blue Vitrol; 

One ounce Copperas; 

One ounce Spanish Brown ; 

One ounce Asafcetida. 



DIRECTIONS FOR SHOEING. 



["Shoeing a horse as most commonly practiced," says White, "has 
a destructive tendency, and produces a variety of diseases." Al- 
though we believe that the proper the proper shoeing of a horse is of 
the utmost importance, and with the view to throw out some hints 
about it, we have made a few selections. Still, we cannot believe 
that the injury done to horses iu shoeing, is not to the extent that 
White and many others have fancied.] 



The Concave Seated Shoe. — The proper form and 
construction of the shoe is a subject deserving of 
very serious inquiry, for it is most important to as 
certain the kind of shoe that will do the least mis- 
chief to the feet. 

The concave-seated shoe presents a perfectly flat 
surface to the ground, to give as many points of bear- 
ing as possible, except that round the outer edge, there 
is a groove or fuller, in which the nail holes are 
punched, so that sinking into the fuller, their heads 
project but a little way above, and are soon worn 
down level with the shoe. The ground surface of 
the common convex shoe, is somewhat convex, and 
the inward rim comes first on the ground; the conse- 
quence of this is, that the weight, instead of being 
borne fairly on the crust, Is supported by nails and 
the clincher, which must be injurious to the crust, 
and often chip and tear it. 

The web of the shoe is of the same thickness 
throughout, from the toe to the heel; and it is suf r 
ficiently wide to guard the sole from bruises, and as 
wide at the heel as the frog will permit, in order to 
cov r er the seat of the corn. 

On the foot side it is s&dtecl. The outer part of it 



is accurately flat, and of width of the crust, and de- 
signed to support the crust, and the crust only, for it 
has already been proved, that by the crust alone, or 
rather the union between the numerous little plates 
proceeding from the crust, and the covering of the 
coffin-bone, the whole weight of the horse is 
supported. Towards the heel this flattened part is 
wider, and occupies the whole breadth of the web, to 
support the heel of the crust and its reflected part, 
the bar; thus, while it defends the horn, included 
within this angle from injury, it gives that equal 
pressure upon the bar and the crust, which is the 
best preventive against corn, and a powerful obstacle 
to contraction. 

It is fastened to the foot by nine nails, five on the 
outside, and four on the inner side of the shoe; those 
on the outside extending a little down towards the 
heel, because the outside heel is thicker and stronger 
and there is more nail-hold; the last nail on the thin- 
ner quarter being farther from the heel, on account of 
the weakness of that quarter.- For feet not too large 
and where moderate i work only is required 
from the horse, four * nails on the outside and 
three on the inside, will be sufficient; and the 
last nail being far from the heels, will allow more ex 
pension there. 

The inside part of the web is bevelled off, or ren- 
dered concave, that it may not press upon the sole. 
The concave shoe prevents the possibility of injury, 
because the sole can never descend in the degree in 
which the shoe is bevelled. A shoe bevelled still fur- 
ther is necessary to protect the projecting or pumic- 
ed foot. 

While the horse is traveling, dirt and gravel are 
apt to insinuate themselves between the web of the 
shoe and the sole. If the shoes were flat they would 
be easily retained there, and bruise the sole, and be 
productive of injury; but whhen the shoe is thus bev 



elled otf, it is scarcely possible for them to remain. 
They must be shaken out every time the foot comes 
in contact with the ground. 

The web of the shoe is likewise of that thickness, 
that when the foot is properly pared, the prominent 
part of the frog shall lie just within and above its 
ground surface, so that in descent of the sole the frog 
shall come sufficiently on the ground to enable it to 
act as wedge, and to expand the quarters, while it is 
defended from the wear and injury it would receive 
if it came on the ground with the first and full shock 
of the weight. 

The nail holes are, on the ground side, placed as 
near the outer edge of the shoe as they can safely be, 
and brought out near the inner edge of the seating. 
The nails thus take a direction inward, resembling 
the direction of the crust itself, and take firmer hold; 
while the strain upon them in the common shoe is al- 
together prevented ; and, the weight of the horse be- 
ing thrown on a flat surface, contraction is not so 
likelj- to be produced. 

The Preparation of the Foot. — We will suppose 
that the horse is sent to the shop to be shod. If the 
master would occasionally accompany him there, he 
would find it much to his' advantage. The old shoe 
must first be taken off. We have something to ob- 
serve, even on this. It was retained on the foot by 
the ends of the nails being twisted off, turned down, 
and clenched. These clenches should be first raised, 
which the smith seldom takes the trouble thoroughly 
to do; but after going carelessly round the crustand 
raising one or two of the clenches, he takes hold of 
first one heel of the shoe and of the other, and by a 
violent wrench, separates them from the foot, and by 
a third wrench, applied to the middle of the shoe, he 
tears it oft*. By this means he must enlarge every 
nail hole, and weaken the future hold, and sometimes 
tears off portions of the crust, and otherwise injure 



the foot. The horse generally shows by his flinch- 
ing, that he suffers by the violence which this pre- 
liminary operation is performed. The clenches 
should always be raised or tiled off; and where the 
foot is tender, or the horse is to be examined for 
lameness, each nail should be partly punched out. 
Many a stub is left in the crust, the source of future 
annoyance, when this unnecessary violence is used. 

The shoe having been removed, the smith proceeds 
to rasp the edges of the crust. Let not the stander- 
by object to the apparant violence which he uses, for 
fear that the foot will suffer. It is the only means 
he has, with safety to his instruments, to detect 
whether any stubs remain in the nail holes; and it is 
the most convenient method of removing that portion 
of the crust into which dirt and gravel have insinu- 
ated themselves. 

Next comes the important process of paring out, 
with regard to which is almost impossible to lay down 
any specific rules. This, however, we can say with 
confidence, that more injury has been done by the 
neglect of paring, than by carrying it tu too great an 
extent. The act of paring is a work of much more la- 
bor than the proprietor of the horse often imagines; 
the smith, except he be overlooked, will give himself 
as little trouble about it as lie can; and that, which 
in the unshod foot would be worn away by contact 
with the ground, is suffered to accumulate month af- 
ter month, until the elasticity of the sole is destroyed, 
and it can no longer descend^ and the functions 
of the foot are impeded; and the foundation is laid for 
corn, contraction, navicular disease, and inuamation. 
That portion of horn should be left on the sole, 
which Will defend the internal parts from being 
bruised, and yet surfer the external sole to descend. 

If the foot has been previously neglected, and the 
horn is become very hard the owner must not object 
if the smith resorts to some means to soften it a little; 



: 1 * 9 . | 

and he takes one of his flat irons, and having heated 
it, draws it over the sole, and keeps it a little while 
in contact with it. When the sole is thick, this rude 
and apparently barbarous method can do no harm, 
but it should never be permitted with a sole that is 
regularly pared out. 

The quantity of horn to be removed in order to 
leave the proper degree of thickness will vary with 
different feet. From the concave foot the horn maj r 
be removed, until the sole will yield to a moderate 
pressure. From the flat foot little need be pared; 
while the pumiced foot will spare nothing but the 
ragged parts. 

The paring being nearly completed, the knife and 
the rasp of the smith must be a little watched, or he 
will reduce the crust to a level with the sole, and 
thus endanger the bruising of the sole by its pressure 
on the edge of seating. The crust should be reduc- 
ed to a perfect level, all round, but left a little high- 
er than the sole. 

The heels will require very considerable attention. 
From the stress which is thrown on the inner heel, 
and from the weakness of the quarter there, it usual- 
ly wears considerably faster than the outer one; and, 
if an equal portion of horn were pared from it, it 
would be left lower than the outer heel. The smith 
should, therefore, accommodate his paring to the 
comparative wear of the heels, and be very careful to 
leave them precisely level. 

He should be checked in his almost universal fond- 
ness for opening the heels, or, more truly, removing 
that which is the main impediment to contraction. 
That portion of the heels between the inflection of 
the bar and the frog should scarcely be touched, at 
least nothing but the ragged and detached parts 
should be cut away . The foot may uot look so pretty, 
but it will last longer without contraction. 

The bar, likewise, should be left fully prominent 



notonly at its lirst Inflection, but as it runs down 
the side of the frog. The heel of our shoe is design- 
ed to rest partly on the heel of the foot, and partly 
on the bar, for reasons that have already been stated. 
If the bar is weak, the growth of it should be encour- 
aged, and it should be scarcely touched at the shoe- 
ing, until it has attained a level with the crust. 

The horn between the crust and the bar should be 
carefully pared out. Every horseman has observed 
the relief given to the animal lame with corns, when 
this angle is well thinned, a relief, however, which 
is but temporary, for when the horn grows again, and 
the shoe presses upon it, the torture of the animal is 
renewed. 

The degree of paring to which the frog must be 
subjected, will depend on its prominence, and on the 
shape of the foot. It must be left so far projecting 
and prominent, that it shall be just within and above 
the lower surface of the shoe, it will then descend 
with the sole, sufficiently to discharge the functions 
which we have attributed to it. If it be the lower, 
it will be bruised and injured; if it be higher, it can- 
not come in contact with the ground, and thus be en- 
abled to do its duty. The ragged parts must be re- 
moved, and especially those occasioned by thrush, 
but the degree of paring must depend entirely on 
this principle. 

It appears, then, that the office of the smith re- 
quires some skill and judgment, in order to be prop- 
erly discharged; and the horse proprietor will find it 
his interest occasionally to visit the shop and com- 
plain of the careless, or idle, obstinate, and reward, 
by some trifling gratuity, the expert and diligent. 
He should likewise remember that a great deal more 
depends on the paring out of the foot, than on the 
construction of the shoe; that few shoes, except they 
press upon the sole, or are made outrageously bad» 
will lame the horse; but that he may be very easily 



lamed from ignorant and improper paring out of the 
foot. 

The- Putting on of the Shoe. — The foot being thus 
prepared, the smith looks about for a shoe. He 
should select one that as neatly as possible tits the 
foot, or may be altered to the foot. He will some- 
times care little about this, for he can easily altar 
the foot to the shoe. The toe-knife is a very conven- 
ient instrument for him, and plenty of horn can be 
struck off with it, or removed by the rasp, to make 
the foot as small as the shoe; while he cares little, al- 
though by the destructive method, the crust is ma- 
terially thinned where it should receive the nail, and 
the danger of puncture is increased, and a foot so ar- 
tificially diminished in size will soon grow over shoe 
to the hazard of considerable or permanent lameness. 

A shoe, thinner at the heel than at the toe, by let- 
ting down the heel too low, is apt to produce sprain 
of the flexor tendon, and a shoe thicker at the heels 
than at the toe, is fit only to elevate the frog, to the 
destruction of its function, and to its own certain dis- 
ease, and also to press upon, batter and bruise that 
part of the foot which is soonest and most destruc- 
tively injured. 

Calkins. — It is expedient that not only that the foot 
and ground surface of the shoe should be most accu- 
rately level, but that the crust should be exactly 
smoothed and fitted the shoe. Much skill and time 
are necessary to do this perfectly without the draw- 
ing knife. The smith has adopted a method of more 
quickly and more accurately adapting the shoe to the 
foot. He pares the crust as level as he can, and then 
he takes the shoe, at a heat something below red 
heat, and applies it to the foot, and detects any lit- 
tle elevations by the deeper color of the burned horn. 
This practice has been much inveighed against; but 
it is the abuse and not the use that is to be condemn 
ed. If the shoe be not too hot, nor held too long on 



the foot, an accurac}* in producing, or would not pro- 
duce at all. If, however, the shoe is made to burn 
its way to its seat, with little or no previous prepara- 
tion of the foot, the heat must be injurious both to 
the sensible and insensible parts of the foot. 

Nothing is more certain, than that in the horse for 
work, the heels, and particularly the seat of corn, 
can scarcely be to well covered. Part of the shoe 
projecting outward can be of no possible good, but 
rather an occasional source of mischief, and especial- 
ly in a heavy country. A shoe, the web of which 
projects inward as far as it can, without touching 
the frog, affords protection to the angle between the 
bars and crust. 

Of the manner of attaching the shoe to the foot the 
owner can scarcely be a competent judge; he can on- 
ly take care that the shoe itself shall not be heavier 
than the work requires — that for work a little hard 
the shoe shall be still a light, and a bit of steel weld- 
ed into the toe — that the nails shall be as small, and 
as few, and as far from the heels, as may be consist- 
ent with the security of the shoe; and that, for light 
work at least, the shoe shall not be driven on so 
closely and firmly as is often done, nor the points of 
the nails brought out so high up as is generally prac- 
ticed. 

There are few cases in which the use of calkins (a 
turning up and elevation of the heel) can Inadmiss- 
ible in the fore feet, except in frosty weather, to pre- 
vent the slipping of the feet. If the outer heel only 
be raised with the calkin, as is too often the case, 
the weight cannot be thrown evenly on the foot, and 
undue straining and injury on the part of the 
foot or of the leg must be the necessary consequences. 
Few things deserve more the attention of liorsemen 
than this most absurd and injurious of all the prac- 
tices of the smith. One quarter of an hour's walking- 
with one side of the shoe or boot raised considerably 



[133] 

above the other, will painfully convince us what the 
horse must suffer from this too common method a of 
shoeing. If the horse be ridden far to cover, or gal- 
loped over much hard and flinty ground, he will in- 
evitably suffer from this unequal distribution of 
weight. If the calkin be put on the outer heel to 
prevent the horse from slipping, either the horn of 
the heel should be lowered to a corresponding degree, 
or the other heel of the shoe should be raised to the 
same level bj^ gradual thickening. Of the use of the 
calkins in the hinder foot, we shall presently speak. 

Clips. — These are portions of the upper edge of the 
shoe, hammered out, and turned up so as to embrace 
the lower part of the crust, and which is usually par- 
ed out a little to receive the clip. They are very use 
ful, as more securely attaching the shoe to the foot, 
and relieving the crust from the stress upon the 
aails which would otherwise be injurious. A clip at 
the toe is almost necessary in every draught horse, 
and absolutely so in the horse of heavy draught, to 
prevent the shoe from being loosened and torn off by 
the stress which is thrown upon the toe in the act of 
drawing. A clip on the outside of each shoe at the 
beginning of the quarters will give security to it. 
Clips are likewise necessary on the shoes of heavy 
horses, and of all others who are disposed to stamp, 
or violently paw with their feet, and thus incur the 
danger of displacing the shoe; but they are evils, in 
that press upon the crust as it goes down, and should 
only be used when circumstances absolutely require 
them. 

The Hinder Shoe. — In forming the hinder shoes, 
it should be remembered that the hind limbs are the 
principal instrumets in progression, and that in every 
act of progression, except the walk the toe is the point 
on which the whole frame of the animal turns, and 
from which it is propelled. This part, then should be 



strengthened as much as possible; and, therefore, the 
hinder shoes are made broader at the toe than at the 
fore ones, and the toe of the foot, which is naturally 
broader than that of the fore -foot, is still further wid- 
ened by rasping. Another good effort is produced 
by this, that the hinder foot being shortened, there 
is less danger of over-reaching or forging, and espe- 
cially if the shoe is made to slope inward, and is a 
little within the toe of the crust. 

The shape of the hinder foot is somewhat different 
from that of the fore foot; is straightcr in the quar- 
ters, and the shoe must have the same shape. For 
carriage and draught horses generally, calkins may 
be put on the heels, because the animal will be thus 
enabled to dig his toe more firmly in the ground, 
and urge nimself forward, and throw his weight into 
the collar with great advantage. But the calkins 
must not be too high, and they must be of an equal 
night on each heel, otherwise, as has been stated 
with regard to the fore- feet, the weight will not be 
fairly distributed over the foot, and some part of the 
foot or leg will materially suffer. The nails in the 
hinder shoe may be placed nearer to the heel than 
in the fore-shoe, because, from the comparative little 
weight and concussion thrown on the hinder feet, 
there is not so much danger of contraction. 

Different Kinds of Shoes. — The shoes will vary 
in substance and weight with the kind of foot, and 
the nature of the work. A weak foot should never 
wear a heavy shoe, nor any foot a shoe that will wear 
longer than a month. Here perhaps, we may be per- 
mitted to caution the Iiorse proprietor against having 
his cattle shod too much by contract, unless he binds 
his hostler to remove the shoes once at least every 
mouth; for if the contractor, by a heavy shoe, and a 
little steel, can cause five or six weeks to intervene 
between the shoeings, lie will do so, although the feet 
of the horse must necessarily suffer. The shoe should 
never be heavier than the work requires An ounce 



or two in the weight of the shoo will sadly toll bofore 
the end of a hard day's work. 

The Bar-Shoe. — A. bar-shoo is a very useful con- 
trivance. It is the continuation of the common shoe 
round the heels, and by means of it the pressure may 
be taken off some tender part of the foot, and thrown 
on another which is better able to bear it, or more 
widely and equally diffused over the whole foot. It 
is principally resorted to in cases of corn, the seat of 
which it perfectly recovers — in pumiced feet, the 
soles of which may be thus elevated above the ground 
and secured from pressure — in sand-crack, when the 
pressure may be removed from the fissure and thrown 
on either side of it — in thrushes, when the frog is 
tender, or has become cankered, and requires to be 
frequently dressed, and the dressing by this means 
alone be retained. In these cases the bar-shoe is an 
excellent contrivance, if worn only for one or two 
shoeings, or as long as the disease requires it to be 
worn, but it must be loft off as soon as it can be dis- 
pensed with. If it be used for the protection of a 
diseased foot, however, it may bo chambered and 
laid off the frog, it will soon be flattened down upon 
it; or if the pressure of it be thrown on the frog to 
relieve the sand-crack on the corn, that frog must be 
very strong and healthy which can long bear the 
great and continued pressure. More mischief is of- 
ten produced in the frog than previously existed in 
the part which was relieved. It will be plain that 
the use of the bar-shoe for corn or sand-crack, the 
crust and the frog should be precisely on a level, and 
the bar should be the widest part of the shoo, to af- 
ford as extended bearing as possible on the frog, and 
therefore less likely to be injurious. Bar-shoes are 
evidently not safe in frosty weather: thev are never 
safe when much speed is required from the horse, and 
they are apt to be wronehed off in a heavy clayey 
countrv. 



11 3 6.] 

Tips. — Tips are short shoes, reaching only half 
round the foot, and worn while the horse is at grass 
to prevent the crust being torn by the occasional 
hardness of the ground, or by the pawing of the ani- 
mal; and the quarters at the same time being free, 
the foot disposed to contract has a chance of expand- 
ing and regaining its natural shape. 

The Expanding Shoe. — Our subject would not be 
complete if we did not describe the supposed expand- 
ing shoe. It is either seated or concave like the com- 
mon shoe, with a joint at the toe, by which the natu- 
ral expansion of the foot is said to be permitted, and 
the injurious consequences of shoeing prevented. 
There is, however, this radical defect in the jointed 
shoe, that the nails occupy the same situation as in 
the common shoe, the gradual expansion of the sides 
and quarters, and allow only of a hinge-like motion 
at the toe. This is a most imperfect accommodation 
of the expansion of the foot to the action of its in- 
ternal parts, and even this accommodation is afford- 
ed in the slightest possible degree, or rather scarcely 
can be afforded at all. Either the nails fix the sides 
and quarters as in the common shoe, and then the 
joint at the toe is useless; or, if that joint merely 
opens like a hinge, the nail holes in the shoe can no 
longer correspond with those in the quarters which 
are unequally expanding at every point; and, there- 
fore, there will be more stress on the crust at these 
holes, which will not only enlarge them and destroy 
the fixed attachment of the shoe to the hoof, but will 
often tear away portions of the crust. This has, in 
many cases, been found to be the effect of the joint- 
ed shoe : The sides and quarters of the foot have 
been broken until it has become difficult to find a 
nail-hold. This shoe to answer the intended pur- 
pose, should consist of many joints, running along 
the sides and quarters, which would make it too com- 
plicated and expen sive and frail for general use. 



LIST, i 

While the shoe is to be attached to the loot by 
nails, we must be content with the concave-seated 
one, taking care to place the nail-holes as far from 
the heels, and particularly from the inner heel, as the 
state of the foot and the nature of the work will ad- 
mit; and where the country is not too heavy nor the 
work too severe, even ommitting the nails on the in- 
ner side of the foot. Shoes nailed on the outer side, 
and at the toe, are more secure than one would imag 
ine, while the inner quarter will be left free, to pre- 
vent its contraction, or to arrest its progress. 

The attempt, however, to lessen the evils produced 
by shoeing is most praiseworthy. Every contriv- 
ance permanently to fix the shoe on the foot without 
the use 01 nails has failed. 

Felt or Leather Soles. — When the foot is bruis- 
ed or inflamed, the concussion or shock produced by 
the hard contact of the elastic iron on the ground 
gives the animal much pain, and causes a short and 
feeling step, or even lameness, and aggravates the 
injury or disease. A strip of felt or leather is some- 
times placed between the seating of the shoe and 
crust, which, from its want of elasticity, deadens or 
materially lessons the vibration or shock, and the 
horse treads more freely and is evidently relieved. 
This is a very good contrivance while the inflama- 
tion or tenderness of the foot continues, but a very 
bad practice if constantly adopted. The nails can 
not be driven so surely or so securely when this 
substance is interposed between the sole and the 
foot; the contraction and swelling of the felt or 
leather from the effect of moisture or dryness will 
soon render the attachment of the shoe less firm; 
there will be too much play upon the nails; the nail 
holes will enlarge and the crust will be broken away. 

After wounds or extensive bruises of the sole, or 
where the sole is thin and flat and tender, it is some- 



times covered with a piece of leather, fitted to the 
sole, and nailed on with the shoe. This may be al- 
lowed as a temporary defence of the foot; but there 
is the same objection to its permanent use from the 
insecurity of fastening, the strain on the crust, and 
the frequent chipping of it: and there are additional 
inconveniences, that if the hollow between the sole 
and the leather be filled with stopping and tow, it is 
exceedingly difficult to introduce them so evenly and 
accurately as not to produce some partial or injur- 
ious pressure — that a few days' work will almost in- 
variably so derange the padding as to produce par- 
tial pressure — that the long contact of the sole with 
stopping of almost every kind, will produce, not a 
healthy, elastic horn, but horn of a scaley, spongy 
nature — and that if the hollow be not thus fill- 
ed, gravel and dirt will insinuate themselves, and 
cause unequal pressure, and eat into and injure the 
foot. 



UNRULY ANIMALS. 



To Stop Cows from Kicking while Milking. — 
Take a rope twelve feet long, tie a slip-noose on one 
end, and put around the under jaw, bring the other 
end down and through between her fore-legs, back 
to the hind leg on the side you wish to milk on, and 
tie to the hind leg: then go to milking, and she may- 
go to kicking and bawling; let her kick and bawl: 
you can break her in two miikings, so that she will 
stand as well as any cow. 

Another way is: draw a girth or strap tight around 
her belly just in front of her bag or elder, and by 
applying the same strap, you can break a cow of the 
habit of holding up her milk. 

To Stop a Cow from Sucking Herself. — Make 
an open ring about two and one-half inches in diam- 
eter the same as you would use to lead an ox or bull 
with by the nose; put it in the nose of the cow, and 
it will stop an}' one on the spot. They cannot suck 
when they raise their upper lip to get the teat; the 
ring drops down over the lip and they are disapoint- 
ed at every effort. 



To Stop Hogs from Rooting. — You will find a mus- 
cle or tendon running down each side of the pig's head 
or snout, and are inserted into the roots. Get some 
one to hold the hog on his right side; hold his hind 
legs; another person to put his knee on the shoulder 
of the hog, and put one hand on the upper jaw, and 
one on the under, just between the eyes, and hold 
the hog so that he cannot bite or squeal; then put 
your hand on his rooter and pull down and the mus- 
cles can be seen; raise up the skin on each side; take 
a small pen-knife and run the blade under the skin 
and muscle and cut them both off, and he will cease 
rooting. 




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